;V^%'  ■■■■ 


DANTE 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2007  witli  tunding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


Iittp://www.arcliive.org/details/divinacommediaca01dantiala 


Hi  « 

H  £ 

Q  5 

O  g 

<  g 

2  .R 


DANTE 


THE  DIVINA  COMMEDIA  AND 
CANZONIERE 


Translated  hy  the  late 

E.   H.   PLUMPTRE  D.D. 

Dean  of  Wells 


WITH  NOTES,  STUDIES  AND  ESTIMATES 


IN  FIVE  VOLUMES 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 

D.   C.   HEATH  ^  CO.,  Publishers 
1899 


THE  DIVINA  COMMEDIA 
Vol  I       HELL 


PUBLISHER'S    NOTE 

The  present  edition  of  Dean  Tlumptre's  elaborately  anno- 
tated translation  of  Dante  consists  of  five  volumes.  The 
first  three  contain  the  ^''  Divina  Commedia"  which  naturally 
falls  into  three  nearly  equal  divisions — Hell,  Purgatory, 
and  Paradise.  The  fourth  volume  is  devoted  to  the  Can- 
zoniere  or  Minor  Poems;  and  the  work  is  brought  to  a 
close  with  a  volume  of"  Studies." 

The  translation  of  the  "  Commedia  "  is  for  the  most  part 
based  on  ScartazzinVs  text  (1874-82),  with  due  attention 
to  the  various  readings  that  materially  aftct  the  sense  of 
the  original.  In  the  "  Minor  Poems  "  the  order  and  text 
of  Fraticelli's  edition  (1873)  have  been  followed. 

With  regard  to  the  Terza  Rima  of  the  "  Commedia " 
and  the  metrical  forms  of  the  "  Canzoniere"  the  Dean 
was  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction  that,  in  default  oj 
absolute  identity  of  form,  it  is  "  the  duty  and  the  wisdom 
of  a  translator  to  aim  at  the  nearest  possible  analogue  " 
attainable,  and  to  reproduce,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  the 
English  language  admits,  the  structure  and  recurrence  of 
7 


PUBLISHER'S   NOTE 

rhymes  which  give  sonnet  and  canzone    their  distinctive 
charm. 

The  "  Studies,**  which  testify  at  every  turn  to  the 
industry,  erudition  and  sympathetic  imagination  of  the 
writer,  place  a  large  accumulation  of  knowledge  at  the 
disposal  of  the  student  of  Dante,  and  fitly  complete  a  stork, 
regarding  which  on  its  appearance  a  few  years  ago  the 
Spectator  observed:  "  No  book  about  Dante  has  been 
published  in  England  that  will  stand  comparison  with 
Dean  Plumptre's." 


CONTENTS 


HELL 

CANTO  PAGE 

I.  The    Wild    Wood— The    Bewildered    Traveller — 
The  Mountain  Delectable— The  Three  Beasts  of 
Prey — Virgil  to   the  Rescue — Prophecy  of  the 
Greyhound   ,         .         .  .         .       • .  .  17 

n.  The  Pilgrim's  Doubts— The  Three  Blessed  Ladies 

in  Paradise — The  Journey  Resumed  .         .         25 

HI.  The  Gate  of  Hell— The  Company  of  the  Neutrals 

—  Charon  and  his  Passengers  .         ,         .         .  31 

IV.  The    First   Circle— The   Limbo   of  Infants— The 

Dwellers  in  the  Elysian  Fields  ...  38 

V.  The  Second  Circle — Sins  of  the  Flesh — Paolo  and 

Francesca      .......         46 

VI.  The   Third  Circle — Cerberus— Sin  of  Gluttony— 

Ciacco  .......  53 

VII.  Plutus — The  Fourth  Circle — Sins  of  Avarice  and 
Profusion— Fortune  and  her  Wheel — The  Fifth 
Circle — The  Murmurers  ....  58 

9 


CONTENTS 

CANTO  PAGB 

VIII.  Phlegyas— The  City  of  Dis  and  its  Inhabitants — 

Filippo  Argenti — The  Closed  Gates  ,         .  63 

IX.  The  Angel-Helper— The  Erinnyes — Medusa— The 

Sixth  Circle — The  Hetesiarchs  ...         68 

X.  The  Epicureans — Farinata  degli  Uberti — Cavalcante 

de'  Cavalcanti         ......  74 

XI.   The  Heresiarchs — Anastasius  II. — Classification  of 

Sins 81 

XII.  The  Minotaur — The  Seventh  Circle — Sins  of  Vio- 
lence — The  Centaurs — The  Tyrants        .  .  86 

XIII.  The  Forest  of  Suicides — The   Harpies — Pier  della 

Vigne  —  Lano    of    Siena  —  Jacopo     da     Sant' 
Andrea  .......  93 

XIV.  The   Desert  of  Fiery   Sand— The  Violent  against 

God— The  Grand  Old  Form  in  Crete        .         .         99 
XV.  The  Sin  against  Nature — Brunette  Latini      .         .        105 
XVI.  Guido    Guerra  —  Tegghiaio  —  Rusticucci  —  The 
Waterfall  of  the  Darlc  River— The  Cord  Thrown 
Away  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .112 

XVII.   Geryon— The  Usurers— The  Abyss  of  Malebolge    .        118 
XVIII.   The  First  Bolgia— The  Seducers,  Jason,  and  Others 

— The  Second  Bolgia — The  Flatterers       .         .        124 
XIX.   The   Third   Bolgia — The  Simonists— Pope    Nico- 
las III. — Church  Corruptions  .  .  .  .129 

XX.  The  Fourth  Bolgia — The  Soothsayers — Amphiaraos 

and  Others    .......        135 

XXI.  The  Fifth  Bolgia— The  Peculators— The  Ancients 

of  Santa  Zita — The  Pranks  of  the  Demons         .        141 
XXII.  The     Fifth    Bolgia— Ciam polo— Friar    Gomita— 

Michael  Zanche    ......        147 

XXIII.  The   Sixth  Bolgia— Departure    of  the    Demons — 

The  Hypocrites — The  Friars  Joyous— Caiaphas  152 

XXIV.  The  Clamber  up  the  Rock— The  Seventh  Bolgia 

— The  Robber  Vanni  Fucci    .         .         .         .        158 
XXV.  The   Bolgia   of   the  Serpents — Cianfa   de*    Donati 


CONTENTS 


and  Others — The   Man   and  Serpent  Transfor- 
mation Scenes        ...... 

XXVI.   The  Eighth  Bolgia  — The  Givers  of  Evil  Counsel 
— Ulysses   and  Diomede — The  Last  Voyage  of 
Ulysses  ....... 

XXVIl.   The    Eighth    Bolgia— The    State   of    Romagna— 
Guide  da  Moutefeltro     ..... 

XXVIII.   The    Ninth    Bolgia— The  Schismatics— Mahomet, 
Ali,  Bertrand  de  Born,  and  Others  . 
XXIX.   The  Tenth  Bolgia— The  Alchemists— Griffolino  of 
Arezzo — Capocchio         ..... 

XXX.  The  Tenth  Bolgia— The  Workers  of  Lies— Adam 
of  Brescia — Sinon  of  Troy        .... 

XXXI.   The  Giants  in  the   Darkness — Ephialtes — Antaeus 
— Journey  to  the  Abyss  .... 

XXXII.  The  Tenth  Circle— The  Lake  of  Ice— Caina  — 
Traitors  to  their  Kin — Antenora — Traitors  to 
their  Country         ...... 

XXXIII.  Ugolino     and    Ruggieri — Ptolomaa — Traitors    to 

their  Friends — Alberigo  .... 

XXXIV.  The  Giudecca — Traitors  to  their  Lords — Lucifer — 

Judas — Brutus — Cassius — The  Stars  seen  again  . 


164 


170 


176 


194 


206 


Index 


229 


LIST  OF  ABBREVIATED  REFERENCES 
FOR  THE  WHOLE  WORK 


Amp. — Ampere,    A,    M,    La    Grece,    Rome    tt    Dante.       Etude* 

Litteraires. 
Anon.  Fior. — Anonimo  Fiorentino.    Commentary  on  Dante.   Ascribed 

by    most   critics   to   Jacopo,    Dante's   son.     Written    in    13Z8. 

Published  by  Lord  Vernon,  1848. 
Aqu'w.  Summ. — Aquinas,  Thomas.     Summa  Theologica,  ed.  Migne, 

1841. 
Arr'rv. — Arrivabene,  F.     II  Secolo  di  Dante,  1838. 
Aroux — Aroux,  E.     Dante,  Heretique,  Revolutionnaire  et  Socialiste, 

1854. 
Aug.  C.  D. — Augustine.      De  Civitate  Dei. 

Aug.  Conff. —  Confessiones. 

Bahr,  Symb. — Bahr,  K,  C.  W.  F.     Symbolik  des  Mosaischen  Cultus. 

z  vols.,  1839. 
Barl. — Barlow,   H.   C.     Contributions  to  the  Study  of  the  Divina 

Commedia,  1864. 
Bartoli — Bartoli,  A,     Storia  della  Litteratura  Italiana,  1884. 
Ben-v. — Benvenuto  Rampoldi  da  Imola.     Comento  sul  Dante,  1879. 
Bocc. — Boccaccio,  G.     Comento  sopra  Dante,  1831. 
Bocc,  V.  D. — Boccaccio,  G.     Vita  di  Dante. 
Bocc.  Dec. — Boccaccio,  G.     Decameron. 
BoetA. — Boethius.     De  Consolatione  Philosophiae,  1843. 

»3 


ABBREVIATED  REFERENCES 

Bre-v.  Rom. — Breviarium  Romanum. 

£«//.— Butler,  A.  J.     The  Purgatory  of  Dante,  1880. 

„  „  The  Paradise  of  Dante,  1885. 

Caste/v. — Castelvetro,    L.     Sposizione   a  XXIX  Canti   dell'  Inferno 

Dantesco,  1886. 
Chaucer,  C.  T. — Chaucer,  G.     Canterbury  Tales. 
Church,  R.  W. — Essay  on  Dante  in  "  Essays  and  Reviews,"  1854. 
Comm. — Dante.     Commedia. 

Comj).  Stud. — Bacon,  Roger.     Compendium  Studii,  ed.  Brewer,  1859. 
Con. — Dante,      Convito. 
Cont,  Rev. — Contemporary  Review. 

Crowe — Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle.     History  of  Italian  Painters. 
D'j^gincourt — D'Agincourt.     History  of  Art,  1847. 
Daniel,  Thes.  /fywjn.— Daniel.     Thesaurus  Hymnologicus,  1841-56. 
Dec. — Boccaccio.     Decamerone. 

Denifte — Denifle,  P.  H.      Die  Universitaten  des  Mittelalters,  1885. 
D.  C.  A. — Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities  (W.  Smith),  1875-80. 
D.  C.  B. — Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography  (W.  Smith),  1877-85. 
D.  G.  R.  Biog. — Dictionary   of  Greek    and  Roman  Biography  (W. 

Smith). 
D.  Gesell. — Deutsche  Dante-Gesellschaft  Jahrbucher,  1867-77. 
Die%,    Etym.    Wort. — Diez,    F.       Etymologisches    Wbrterbuch    der 

Romanischen  Sprachen,  1853. 
Die^,  Troub. — Diez,  F.     Leben  und  Werke  der  Troubadours,  1829. 
Dino  C.  or  D.  C. — Dino  Compagni.      Cronica  Fiorentina,  1876. 
Four. — Fauriel,  M.     Dante  et  les  Origines   de  la  Langue  et  de  la 

Litterature  Italiennes,  1854. 
Fflz. — Fazio  degli  Uberti.     Dittamondo,  1826. 
Ferr.  M.  D. — Ferrazzi,  G.  J.     Manuale  Dantesco,  1865. 
Frat.  0.  M, — Fraticelli,    P.      Opere    Minora    di    Dante    Alighieri, 

1873-79. 
Frat.  V.  D. — Fraticelli,  P.    Storia  della  Vita  di  Dante  Alighieri,  1861. 
Gm.  Pis. — Guido  Pisano.     MS.  Commentary  on  the  Inferno,  in  the 

British  Museum,  circ.  1330. 
Hardouin — Doutes  sur  I'Age  du  Dante,  1847. 


ABBREVIATED   REFERENCES 

Hare— Hare,  A.  J.  C.     The  Cities  of  Italy,  1876. 

Humb. — Humboldt.     Kosmos,  ed.  Bohn,  1849-58. 

Irmer — Die  Romfahrt  Kaiser  Heinrich's  VII.,  1881. 

Joanne — Joanne.      Dictionnaire  Geographique  de  la  France. 

Kingt. — Kington,  T.  L.     History  of  Frederick  II.,  Emperor  of  the 

Romans,  1862. 
Kliick-z. — Klackzo.     Causeries  Florentines. 
Krafft — Krafft,  Carl.      Dante's  Lyrische  Gedichte,  1859. 
Lacroix — Lacroix,  Paul.     Sciences  et  Lettres  du  Moyen  Age,  1877. 
Lindsay — Lindsay,  Lord.     Sketches  of  the  History  of  Christian  Art, 

1885. 
Litta — Famiglie  celebri  Italiane,  -v.  d. 
Lowell — Lowell,  J.  R.     Essay  on    Dante  in  "  Among  my  Books," 

Ser.  ii.,  1854. 
Mart. — Martigny.     Dictionnaire  des  Antiquites  Chretlennes,  1865, 
Maikf  M.  R. — Maskell.     Monumenta  Ritualia,  1846. 
Malhp. — Malispini,  Ricordano.     Storia  Fiorentina,  1876. 
Men%el — Menzel,  C.  A.     Die  Geschichten  des  Deutschen,  1819. 
Met. — Ovid.     Metamorphoses. 
Milm.  L.  C. — Milman,   H.   H.      History  of  Latin  Christianity,    ed. 

1867. 
Man. — Dante.     De  Monarchia,  ed.  Fraticelli  Opere  Minore,  1873. 
Mon.  Franc. — Monumenta  Franciscana,  ed.  J.  S.  Brewer,  1858. 
Murat. — Muratori.     Italicarum  Rerum  Scriptores,  1723-51. 
Napier  (or  Nap.) — Napier.     Florentine  History,  1846. 
N,  ^ — Notes  and  Queries,  -v.  d. 

Ort. — Ortolan,  J.     Les  Penalites  de  I'Enfer  de  Dante,  1873. 
Op.  Tert, — Bacon,  Roger.     Opus  Tertium,  ed.  J.  S.  Brewer,  1859. 
Ott. — Ottimo  Comento  della  Divina  Commedia  (1330),  1827-29. 
Ozan, — Ozanam,  A.  F.     Dante  et  la  Philosophic  Catholique  au  i3me 

Siecle,  1840. 
Phil. — Philalethes    (King    John    of    Saxony).       Dante    Alighieri's 

Gbttliche  Combdie,  1865. 
Pott — Pott,  A.  F.     Die  Personen  Namen    1853. 
Ramp. — Rampoidi.      Corografia  dell'  Italia. 

«s 


ABBREVIATED  REFERENCES 

Rossetti,  M. — Rossetti,  Maria.     The  Shadow  of  Dante. 

Ruik.  F.  C. — Ruskin,  John.     Fore  Clavigera. 

Rusk.  M.  P. — Ruskin,  John.     Modern  Painters,  1843-60. 

Scart. — Scartazzini,  G.  A.     La  Divina  Commedia  di  Dante  Alighicri, 

1874-82. 
Scart.  L.  D. — Scartazzini,  G.  A.     Dante  Alighieri,  Sein  Zeit,  Sein 

Leben  und  Seine  Werke,  1879. 
Serrav. — Serravalle,    Giov.    da.       MS.    Latin    Translation    of    the 

Cormmedia  with  Commentary,  in  the  British  Museum,  14 14. 
Sum.  H.  R.  I. — Sismondi,  J.  C.   L.  de.       Histoire  des  Republiques 

Italiennes,  1826. 
Troja — Troja.     II  Veltro  AUegorico  di  Dante. 
yas. — Vasari,  G.     Lives  of  Painters,  ed.  Bohn,  1850. 
y.  E. — Dante.     De  Vulgari  Eloquio,  ed.  Fraticelli,  1873. 
y,  N. — Dante.     Vita  Nuova,  ed.  Fraticelli,  1873. 
A';//.— Villani,  G.     Croniche,  1857. 

fTart.  H.  E.  P.— Warton,  T.     History  of  English  Poetry,  1840. 
tVeg. — Wegele,  F.  X.     Dante  Alighieri's  Leben  und  Werke,  1879. 
fVitte,  D.  F. — Witte.     Dante  Forschungen,  1879. 


x6 


HELL  CANTO  I 

The  Wild  Wood — The  Bewildered  Traveller — The  Mountain 
Delectable — The  Three  Beasts  of  Prey — Virgil  to  the  Rescue — 
Prophecy  of  the  Greyhound 

When  our  life's  course  with  me  had  halfway  sped, 

I  found  myself  in  gloomy  forest  dell, 

Where  the  straight  path  beyond  all  search  had  fled. 
Ah  me  !  hard  task  it  were  in  words  to  tell 

What  was  that  wood,  wild,  drear,  and  tangled  o'er,    ^ 

Which  e'en  in  thought  renews  that  terror  fell ! 

1  We  are  unable  to  fix  with  precision  the  date  (probably  circ.  1302-3) 
when  Dante  first  entered  on  the  work  of  writing  the  Commedia.  He  has 
defined  with  the  utmost  care  the  time  at  which  its  action  opens  He  has 
reached  the  "halfway"  point  of  the  threescore  years  and  ten  which  he, 
with  the  Psalmist  {Ps.  xc.  10),  recognised  as  the  normal  standard  of  man's 
life  {Conv.  iv.  23);  a»nd  as  he  was  born  in  a.d.  1265,  this  brings  us  to  a.d. 
1300.  The  sun  is  in  the  sign  of  Aries  (1.  38),  the  date  (March  25),  according 
to  mediaeval  tradition,  of  the  Creation  and  the  Incarnation.  And,  as  we 
learn  later  on  (C.  xxi.  112),  it  was  on  the  morning  of  Good  Friday  that  the 
narrative  of  his  experience  begins.  On  that  day,  at  the  same  age  (Conv.  I.C.), 
the  Christ  had  died.  It  was  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  poet's  life.  In  that 
year  (June  15),  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  Priori  of  Florence,  and  to  that 
election  he  looked  back  as  the  ybns  et  origo  of  all  his  after  troubles  (Weg. 
p.  143).  Earlier  in  the  year  [Weg.  p.  140),  he  had  probably  been  sent  on  a 
mission  to  Boniface  VIII.,  who  was  then  keeping  the  great  Jubilee  which 
he  had  proclaimed  on  the  Christmas  Day  of  1299.  He  was  there,  it  may  be, 
at  the  very  date  which  he  fixes  for  his  vision,  and  his  friend  Giotto,  and 
Villani,  the  future  historian  of  Florence,  were  with  him  (Crowe,  p.  233). 
When  he  looked  back  upon  the  Easter-tide  of  that  year,  it  came  before  him  as 
the  great  crisis  of  his  life.  He  had  fallen  from  his  "first  love"  (Purg.  xxx. 
124-141  J,  and  was  wandering  in  ways  that  were  not  good.  Inwardly 
and  outwardly,  morally  and  politically,  he  was  without  guidance,  and  a 
horror  of  great  darkness  fell  upon  him.  The  melancholy  of  the  Bargello 
portrait,  perhaps  painted  in  this  very  year,  was  the  outward  token  of  the 
mward  misery  and  weariness  which  preyed  upon  his  soul,  like  that  of  which 
we  read  in  Ecclesiastes  and  in  Hamlet.  He  has  to  tell  of  his  deliverance 
from  that  evil  state.  The  Commedia  is  for  him,  as  the  Pilgrim's  Progress 
was  afterwards  for  Bunyan,  the  history  of  his  conversion.  He  has  also  to 
fulfil  the  promise,  made  ten  years  before,  with  which  the  Vita  Ntiova  ended, 
that  he  would  make  the  name  of  Beatrice  immortal. 

'■  The  "  gloomy  forest  "  (Purg.  xiv.  64),  the  "  straight  path"  lost  (Pur^, 
»7  B 


HELL  CANTO  I 

So  bitter  'tis,  death's  self  were  little  more; 
But  that  the  good  there  found  I  may  display, 
I'll  tell  what  else  'twas  given  me  to  explore. 

How  I  there  entered,  can  I  not  well  say,  ^^ 

So  sleep-opprest  was  I  in  that  same  hour 
When  from  the  true  path  thus  I  went  astray. 

But  when  I  reached  a  point  'bove  which  did  tower 
A  mount,  where  to  its  end  that  valley  drew, 
Which  pierced  my  heart  with  terror's  torturing  power, 

I  looked  on  high,  and  lo  !  its  slopes  to  view  [^* 

Came  clothed  with  brightness  from  that  planet's  ray 
Which  for  all  others  ordereth  path  most  true. 

Then  for  a  while  did  peace  the  fear  allay 

That  my  heart's  fountain  vexed,  nor  did  relent :       ^ 
All  the  sad  night  I  passed  in  such  dismay, 

And  e'en  as  one  who,  panting,  worn,  and  spent, 
From  the  deep  sea  escaping  to  the  shore, 
Turns  to  the  perilous  waves  in  wonderment, 

XXX.  122),  was  so  natural  a  symbol  of  the  state  just  described,  that  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  look  elsewhere  for  the  sources  of  the  imagery.  Prov.  ii. 
I3~i5i  2  Pet.  ii.  15,  may  have  floated  in  his  mind,  or  he  may  have  found  the 
thought  in  the  Tesoretto  of  his  master,  Brunetto  Latini  (li.  75).  In  his  own 
Convito  (iv.  24)  he  speaks  of  life  as  a  selva  erronea.  To  him,  as  to  others 
(the  Autobiography  of  J.  S.  Mill  and  the  Confessions  of  Augustine  supply 
striking  parallels,  not  to  speak  of  St.  Paul's  recollections  of  a  like  state  in 
Rom.  vii.  23,  24),  that  state  was  as  "  the  body  of  this  death,"  and  even  to 
remember  it  was  terrible. 

8  "  What  else."    A  v.  I.  gives  "what  high  things." 

,10  Self-knowledge  had  not  yet  come,  as  it  came  afterwards,  through  the 
reproofs  of  Beatrice  (Purg.  xxx.  115-145),  to  point  to  the  cause,  and  there- 
fore to  the  remedy,  of  the  evil.     He  was  as  one  walking  in  a  dream. 

1*  The  "mount,"  afterwards  (I.  77)  described  as  the  "mount  delectable" 
{we  note  the  unconscious  parallelism  in  Bunyan),  can  stand  for  nothing  else 
than  the  ideal  life  of  holiness,  perhaps  also  the  ideal  Christian  polity,  such 
as  we  find  in  the  Man.,  after  which  the  poet  was  beginning  to  aspire.  He 
saw  its  heights  gleaming  with  the  "rose  of  dawn."  Even  to  contemplate 
that  ideal  as  afar  off  brought  with  it  some  calm  and  comfort.  The  sun,  iu 
accordance  with  the  Ptolemaic  astronomy,  is  described  as  a  "  planet." 
Here,  of  course,  it  is  the  symbol  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  God  is  the 
spiritual  Sun  of  the  Universe  (Par.  xxv.  54  ;  Conv.  iii.  12),  leading  men '(we 
note  the  sad  pathos  of  the  "others"  as  coming  from  the  bewildered  pilgrim) 
on  their  way  (Purg.  xiii.  16-21). 

i2  The  first  simile  in  the  Coinin.,  like  all  that  follow  it,  is  as  far  as  possible 

from  being  a  "poetical  ornament.'     It  is  introduced  because  it  describes  a 

state  which  no  othei  words  could  describe  half  as  well.     It  reminds  us  in 

part  of  the  "suave  mari  magna  .  .  ."  of  Lucretius  (i.  1),  but  there  the 

18 


HELL  CANTO  I 

So  did  my  soul,  that  still  fled  evermore,  * 

Turn  back  to  gaze  upon  the  scene  around. 
Which  never  living  man  had  yet  passed  o'er. 

When  my  worn  frame  awhile  had  sought  the  ground, 
Once  more  I  started  through  the  desert  plain, 
So  that  the  firm  foot  still  was  lower  found.  ^ 

And  lo  !  just  as  the  sloping  side  I  gain, 
A  leopard  supple,  lithe,  exceeding  fleet. 
Whose  skin  full  many  a  dusky  spot  did  stain ; 

Nor  did  she  from  before  my  face  retreat. 

Nay,  hindered  so  my  journey  on  the  way,  ** 

That  many  a  time  I  backward  turned  my  feet. 

The  hour  was  that  of  earliest  dawn  of  day; 
And  with  each  star  the  sun  on  high  did  ride. 
Which  with  him  was  when  Love's  divinest  sway 

tranquillity  is  that  of  one  who  had  not  been  struggling  with  the  waves,  who 
had  not  made  shipwreck  of  his  faith,  because  there  was  no  faith  to  lose. 
Here  the  escape  is  that  of  one  who  has  uttered  his  De  Pro/undis.  He  has 
passed  (the  two  irtiages  blend  together)  out  of  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  the  abyss  from  which  no  living  man  "  (he  speaks  of  the  soul's  life, 
not  the  body's)  had  ever  been  delivered,  and  looks  back  with  the  first 
consciousness  that  hope  was  possible,  even  in  the  midst  of  fears. 

29  Aspirations  after  the  ideal  are  followed  by  efforts.  He  begins,  after  a 
short  interval  of  repose,  to  climb  the  mountain  of  holiness. 

32  The  three  symbolic  forms  that  obstruct  the  pilgrim's  path  are  those  of 
Jer.  v.  6.  The  frequency  with  which  Dante  quotes  that  prophet  {V.  N. 
c.  29  ;  Frat.  O.  M.  iii.  116)  seems  to  indicate  a  certain  attraction  of  affinity. 
In  temperament,  in  genius,  to  some  extent  in  their  outward  fortunes,  the 
lives  of  the  two  men  present  a  strange  parallelism.  After  the  manner  of 
mediaeval  commentaries,  starting  from  Jerome  [Comm.  in  Jer.  v.  6),  the 
three  forms  of  animal  life  become  types  of  moral  evil — the  leopard  of  the 
love  of  sensuous  beauty,  the  lion  of  pride,  the  wolf  of  greed  (so  Bocc, 
without  noticing  others).  So  in  the  Golden  Legend  these  are  the  three  sins 
which  S.  Dominic  and  S.  Francis  were  raised  up  to  overcome.  So  Boelhius 
(B.  iii.),  where,  however,  the  swine  takes  the  place  of  the  leopard.  Possibly, 
as  a  whole  school  of  commentators  (Foscolo,  Rossetti,  and  others)  have 
suggested,  there  may  be  an  underlying  political  symbolism  as  well,  and  the 
three  beasts  may  stand  for  Florence,  France,  and  the  Papal  Curia  respectively, 
as  typical  representatives  of  those  vices.  What  Dante  calls  [Ep.  to  Can 
Grande)  the  nature  of  his  poems,  "as  manifold  in  meaning,"  makes  a 
double  interpretation  probable,  and  it  is  perhaps  in  favour  of  this  view  that 
Jerome  (Comm.  in  Jer.  v.  6),  while  accepting  the  moral  allegory,  suggests 
also  that  the  lion  is  the  symbol  of  the  Babylonian  monarchy,  the  wolf  of  the 
Medo-Persian.  and  the  leopard  of  that  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  the  spots  of 
the  leopard's  skin  representing  the  mingled  population  of  the  Macedonian 
monarchy,  as  to  the  interpreters  above-named  they  represent  the  factions 
that  destroyed  the  peace  of  Florence. 

39  See  note  on  1.  1. 

>9 


HELL  CANTO  1 

O'er  the  first  forms  of  beauty  did  preside  ;  *° 

So  that  good  ground  for  bright  hopes  met  me  here 
From  that  fair'creature  with  the  spotted  hide. 

The  hour  of  day  and  season  sweet  of  year ; 
Yet  o'er  me,  spite  of  this,  did  terror  creep 
From  aspect  of  a  lion  drawing  near.  *' 

He  seemed  as  if  upon  me  he  would  leap. 

With  head  upraised  and  hunger  fierce  and  wild. 
So  that  a  shudder  through  the  air  did  sweep  ; 

Then  a  she-wolf,  with  all  ill  greed  defiled, 

Laden  with  hungry  leanness  terrible,  ®* 

That  many  nations  of  their  peace  beguiled  ; 

And  thereupon  such  sorrow  on  me  fell. 

With  dread  that  came  from  that  ill-boding  sight, 
That  I  lost  hope  to  climb  that  mountain  well. 

And  e'en  as  one  who  gains  with  great  delight,  ** 

When  the  time  comes  that  makes  him  lose  his  prey, 
Mourns  in  each  thought,  opprest  with  sore  despite, 

So  that  fierce  beast,  who  ne'er  at  rest  did  stay. 
Now  meeting  me,  by  slow  degrees  and  sure. 
Thrust  me  back  there  where  silent  is  the  day.  *" 

And  as  I  fell  back  to  that  clime  obscure. 

Before  mine  eyes  there  seemed  a  form  to  glide. 
Whose  voice,  through  silence  long,  seemed  hoarse  and 
poor ; 

*1  The  leopard  did  not  alarm  the  wanderer.  The  life  of  sensual  enjoyment, 
the  stir  of  the  rejoicing  city,  if  we  admit  the  reference  to  Florence,  blended 
with  the  brightness  of  spring,  perhaps  with  the  memories  of  Holy  Week  and 
Easter  IBocc),  and  gave  rise  at  first  to  hope.  But  the  hope  was  transitory.  ' 
The  leopard  hindered  the  pilgrim  from  climbing  the  mountain.  He  sought 
to  resist  _  the  temptation  by  enrolling  himself  among  the  followers  of 
S.  Francis  of  Assisi,  probably  among  the  Tertiaries  (C.  xvi.  io6),  but  he 
needed  a  stronger  impulse  than  any  ascetic  rules  could  give  him. 

*^  The  lion  and  the  wolf  (comp.  Purg;.  xx.  lo),  unlike  the  leopard,  are 
imply  deterrent.     Pride  and  avarice,  embodied  chiefly  in  the  acts  of  the 
powers,  France  and  Rome,  that  thwart  his  political  aspirations,  caused  fear, 
and  not  hope.    The  soul  gave  up  the  struggle  and  fell  back  into  the  darkness 
from  which  it  seemed  to  have  escaped. 
60  Comp.  Milton,  S.  A.  86  :— "  The  sun  to  me  is  dark. 
And  silent  is  the  moon." 
Help  comes  from  an  unexpected  quarter.    What  Plato  had  been  to 
20 


HELL  CANTO  I 

And  when  I  saw  him  in  that  desert  wide, 

"  Have  pity  on  me  "  I  to  him  did  cry,  * 

"Whether  in  thee  or  man  or  shade  is  spied." 

And  he  made  answer :  "  Man  no  more  am  I  : 
Man  [  was  once ;  my  parents  Lombards  were, 
And  both  to  Mantua  traced  their  ancestry; 

Sub  Julio  was  I  born,  though  late  the  year,  "* 

And  lived  at  Rome  beneath  Augustus  good. 
While  false  and  lying  Gods  men  worshipped  there. 

A  poet  I,  and  sang  the  righteous  mood 

Of  great  Anchises'  son,  who  came  from  Troy, 
When  haughty  Ilion  was  by  fire  subdued.  ^® 

But  thou,  why  turn'st  thou  back  to  such  annoy  ? 
Why  climb'st  thou  not  yon  mount  delectable,  . 
Which  is  the  source  and  spring  of  every  joy  ?  " 

"What  !  art  thou  Virgil,  thou  that  springing  well 
Which  pours  of  clear  full  eloquence  the  tide?"        ™ 
I  answered  him  with  looks  that  reverence  tell. 

"  O,  of  all  other  bards  the  light  and  pride, 
Let  the  long  study  and  the  love  avail 
Which  I  to  that  thy  volume  have  applied. 

Justin  and  Augustine,  Virgil  was  to  Dante— a  "  schoolmaster  leading  him  to 
Christ."  In  Purg.  xii.  3,  he  applies  to  him  the  very  term,  "paedagogue," 
of  Gal.  iii.  24.  I  cannot  doubt  that  we  have  the  record  of  an  actual 
experience.  Virgil  was  for  him  more  than  a  Deus  ex  machind,  the  repre- 
sentative of  human,  as  distinguished  from  divine,  wisdom.  He  had  studied 
him  in  his  youth,  had  formed  his  style  on  his,  had  drunk  in  his  thoughts  as 
to  the  greatness  of  the  part  assigned  to  Rome  in  the  divine  drama  of  history. 
In  the  vision  of  Hades  in  B.  vi.  of  the  jEneid  he  found,  it  need  hardly  be 
said,  more  than  in  any  mediaeval  legends,  visions  of  Alberic,  or  S.  Patrick's 
Purgatory,  the  archetype  of  the  Commedia.  The  "long  silence"  and  the 
"hoarse  voice"  may  symbolise  either  the  general  neglect  of  the  poet's 
wisdom,  or  Dante's  own  temporary  disregard  of  what  might  have  saved  him 
from  his  fall.  To  him,  at  first,  the  oracles  of  human  wisdom  seemed  dim  and 
dark.     Comp.  Milton,  P.  L.  vii.  25 : — 

"  With  mortal  voice  unchanged, 
To  hoars*  or  mute,  though  fallen  on  evil  days." 

70  Sub  Julio.  Virgil,  b.  B.C.  70,  d.  B.C.  ig.  Julius  Caesar,  b.  B.C.  100,  d.  B.C.  44. 
Augustus,  b.  B.C.  63,  d.  A.D.  14.  Virgil  had,  therefore,  been  for  twenty-six 
years  a  contemporary  of  Julius.  It  is  worth  noting  that  Dante  had  been 
taught  by  his  master,  Latini,  to  ihiuk  of  Julius  as  the  first  Emperor 
{Tes.  i.  38). 

ZI 


HELL  CANTO  I 

Thou  art  my  Master,  Guide  that  dost  not  fail,  ^ 

And  thou  alone  art  he  from  whom  I  drew 
The  goodly  style  whence  comes  of  praise  full  tale. 

Thou  see'st  the  beast  that  back  my  footsteps  threw  ; 
Give  me  thine  aid  against  her,  famous  seer, 
For  she  with  fear  doth  vein  and  pulse  imbue."  "** 

"'Tis  meet  thy  steps  to  other  course  should  veer," 
He  answered,  when  he  saw  me  weeping  sore, 
"If  thou  wilt  'scape  this  region  waste  and  drear  ; 

For  that  fell  beast,  whose  spite  thou  wailest  o'er. 

Lets  no  man  onward  pass  along  her  way,  ®* 

But  so  doth  hinder  that  he  lives  no  more, 

And  is  of  mood  so  evil,  fierce  to  slay, 

That  never  doth  she  sate  her  hunger  dread, 

But,  when  full-gorged,  still  hungers  most  for  prey. 

Many  the  creatures  are  that  with  her  wed,  ^^ 

And  will  be  more  until  the  Greyhound  come 
Who  with  sharp  agony  shall  smite  her  dead. 

87  Dante  speaks  as  one  already  (in  a.d.  1300)  held  in  repute  as  a  writer, 
probably  referring  to  the  Viia  Nuova,  a*id  the  Sonnets  and  Canzoni,  which 
belong  to  the  earlier  labours  of  his  life ;  possibly  to  the  De  Mon.  (Witte),  or 
to  Latin  poems  which  have  not  come  down  to  us,  but  in  which  the  eclogues 
that  passed  between  him  and  Joannes  de  Virgilio  show  him  to  have  been  an 
expert.  The  fact,  however,  that  in  Cam.  4  he  speaks  of  his  own  soave  stilo 
is  proof  that  he  ascribed  his  mastery  over  Italian  to  the  study  of  Virgil's 
Latin.  The  "fell  beast"  that  had  driven  the  poet  back  from  the  "delectable 
mountain "  was  the  greed  of  gain,  which  he  found  dominant  everywhere, 
attacking  even  him,  pitiless  and  insatiable  (comp.  Mon.  i.  16;  Conv. 
iv.  12). 

iw  The  "greyhound"  is  the  idealised  deliverer  of  Italy.  In  the  De 
Mon.  i.  I,  Dante  dwells  on  the  repression  of  covetousness  as  the  great  work 
of  the  true  Emperor.  Here,  however  (the  passage  being  probably  inserted 
after  the  death  of  Henry  VII.  in  a.d.  1313),  the  ideal  is  localised  by  the  two 
Feltros,  the  one  in  Friuli,  the  other  (Montefeltro)  in  Rumagna,  to  the  terri- 
tory ruled  by  Can  Grande  della  Scala  of  Verona,  to  whom,  as  vicar  of  the 
Empire,  the  worshipper  of  the  ideal  transferred  his  hopes  after  Henry's 
death.  In  Par.  xvii.  82-90  he  describes  his  protector  in  nearly  the  same 
terms  as  those  which  are  here  used,  "  caring  not  for  silver,"  making  the  rich 
poor  and  the  poor  rich.  By  some  commentators  (Troya)  "  the  greyhound" 
has  been  identified  (less  probably)  with  the  Marquis  Uguccione  della  Fag- 
giuola,  a  Ghibelline  leader,  prominent  in  the  movement  under  Henry  VII., 
to  whom  the  In/emo  is  said  to  have  been  dedicated,  and  for  whom  two 
boundaries,  Macerata  Feltria  and  Sanleo  Feltrio,  have  been  found.  The 
name  of  Can  Grande,  it  may  be  noted,  probably  suggested  the  symbol  of 
the  "greyhound."  In  the  "low  Italy  '  (1.  106)  we  have  an  echo  of  the 
hutnilis  Italia  of  j^n,  iiL  522.     For  the  names  that  follow,  see  /En.  v. 


HELL  CANTO  I 

He  shall  not  crave  broad  lands  or  pelf  at  home, 

But  wisdom,  virtue,  charity  shall  love. 

And  'twixt  two  Feltros  shall  his  subjects  roam.        ^''* 
Of  low  Italia  shall  he  saviour  prove. 

For  which  of  old  the  maid  Camilla  died, 

Nisus,  Euryalus,  and  Turnus  strove. 
He  through  each  town  shall  chase  her  far  and  wide. 

Until  he  drive  her  back  to  deepest  Hell,  "° 

From  whence  at  Envy's  primal  hest  she  hied. 
Wherefore  for  thee  I  think  and  judge  'tis  well 

That  thou  should'st  follow,  I  thy  leader  be, 

And  guide  thee  hence  to  that  eternal  cell, 
Where  thou  shalt  hear  sharp  wails  of  misery,  "* 

Shalt  see  the  ancient  spirits  in  their  pain. 

For  which,  as  being  the  second  death,  men  cry  : 

320-360  ;  xi.  831 ;  xii.  930-952.  The  width  of  the  work  which  the  grey- 
hound is  to  accomplish  points  clearly  to  a  widespread  moral  evil  rather  than 
to  the  Papal  Curia,  even  if  we  were  to  suppose  that  Dante  contemplated 
Hell  as  at  once  the  origin  and  the  doom  of  that  Curia.  Bocc.  (i.  61,  114) 
curiously  enough  writes  as  if  no  one  had  ever  taken  " Feltro"  as  the  name 
of  a  place.  With  him  it  is  simply  a  common  noun,  the  "coarse  cloth"  of 
the  garments  of  the  poor,  and  he  wanders  in  omnia  alia  of  conjectural 
interpretations,  one  identifying  the  deliverer  with  the  Christ  born  in  the 
stable  of  Bethlehem.  So  Guido  Pisano  (a.d.  1333)  asserts  that  in  Spanish 
"/eltro"  means  "arm-pit,"  and  that  the  words  point  primarily  to  the 
"  honest  and  good  heart "  as  lying  between  the  armpits,  and  anagogice,  to 
Christ  and  the  second  advent.  Such  is  the  value  of  primitive  tradition  in 
the  interpretation  of  a  poet.  The  name  Can  had  taken  the  place  of  his 
original  Christian  name,  Francesco  (IVeg.  295),  as  embodying  a  dream  in 
which  his  mother,  before  his  birth,  had  had  a  vision  of  his  future  greatness. 
Possibly,  the  prominence  given  by  the  travels  of  Marco  Polo  to  the 
character  of  Kublai,  the  great  Khan  (Ca'an  Grande)  of  Tartary.  as  an 
almost  ideal  king,  may  have  affected  Dante's  language.  Can  Grande 
became  a  nomen  et  omen  in  a  new  sense  [Vule  i.  132,  139). 

117  The  "second  death"  is  often  taken  as  if  it  were  equivalent  to  the 
annihilation  for  which  the  damned  are  supposed  to  long,  and  to  long  in  vain. 
As  used,  however,  in  Rev.  xx.  14,  xxi.  8,  the  phrase  has  precisely  ti:e 
opposite  meaning,  and  stands  for  the  ultimate  doom ;  and  Dante  was  too 
good  a  theologian  to  use  it  in  any  other  sense.  His  use  of  the  term  in  his 
letter  to  the  Florentines  (We^.  234;  Frat.  O.  At.  iii.  450)  is  absolutely 
decisive  on  this  point.  R<rv.  ix.  6  seems  at  first  to  support  the  traditional 
view,  but  there  the  " second dcaxh"  is  not  named.  On  the  whole,  it  seems 
best  to  take  the  word  "cry"  as  simply  meaning  "  bewail,"  and  as  referring 
to  the  present  or  future  sufferings  of  the  damned  (so  Boccaccio).  On  the 
other  hand,  a  striking  coincidence  is  found  in  the  Book  0/ Adam,  among  the 
apocrypha  of  the  so-called  Christians  of  St.  John  at  Bassora,  where  it  is 
written  of  the  damned,  "  They  call  on  the  second  death  with  loud  cries,  and 
23 


HELL  CANTO  I 

Those  thou  shalt  see  who,  in  the  hope  to  gain, 

When  the  hour  comes,  the  blest  ones'  happier  clime, 
Can  bear  the  torturing  fire  nor  yet  complain.  ^^ 

To  these  would'st  thou  with  eager  footsteps  climb, 
A  soul  shall  guide  thee  worthier  far  than  I  : 
With  her  I'll  leave  thee  when  to  part  'tis  time. 

For  that  great  Emperor  who  reigns  on  high. 

Because  I  lived  a  rebel  to  His  will,  ^^^ 

Wills  that  through  me  none  come  His  city  nigh. 

Through  all  the  world  He  rules,  yet  there  reigns  still  ; 
There  is  His  city,  there  His  lofty  throne. 
Thrice  blestwhom  He  doth  choose  those  courts  to  fill !  " 

Then  spake  I,  "  By  the  God  thou  did'st  not  own,       ^^ 
O  Poet,  I  of  thee  a  boon  desire, 
That  I  may  'scape  this  woe,  or  worse  unknown, 

That  whither  thou  hast  said  thou  lead  me  higher, 
So  that  St.  Peter's  gate  in  sight  I  find. 
And  those  thou  tell'st  of  in  their  torments  dire."     ^^ 

Then  he  moved  onward  and  I  trod  behind. 

the  second  death  is  deaf  to  their  prayers"  (Migne.  Diet,  des  Apocr. 
i.  122). 

119  As  in  C.  iii.  9,  it  is  the  absence  or  the  presence  of  hope  that  makes  all 
the  difference  between  Hell  and  Purgatory.  The  fiercest  pains  are  endurable, 
may  even  be  welcomed,  if  they  develop  the  capacity  for  blessedness. 

122  The  "  worthier  soul,"  as  the  sequel  shows,  is  Beatrice,  glorified  and 
transfigured,  so  as  to  be  the  representative  of  divine,  as  Virgil  was  of 
human,  wisdom. 

124  Readers  of  the  De  Mon.  will  appreciate  the  significance  of  the  use  of 
the  word  "  Emperor  "'rather  than  "  King,"  as  representing  flie  sovereignty 
of  God.  The  earthly  Emperor  was  the  type  of  the  heavenly.  Compare  the 
use  of  the  same  word  of  the  Lord  of  Hell  (C.  xxxiv.  28). 

134  "St.  Peter's  gate."  The  entrance,  not  of  Paradise,  but  Purgatory. 
Comp.  Purgy'fi.  127,  xxi.  54. 


»4 


HELL  CANTO  II 

The  Piigrim's  Doubts — T/ie  Three  Blessed  Ladies  In  Paradise — 
The  "Journey  Resumed 

The  day  was  closing,  and  the  dusk-brown  air 
Set  free  from  toil  all  forms  of  life  that  dwell 
On  earth  :  and  all  alone  did  I  prepare 

To  bear  the  brunt  of  all  the  conflict  fell, 

As  of  the  way  so  also  of  the  woe,  • 

Which  now  my  mind,  that  errs  not,  will  retell. 

Ye  Muses,  help,  Thought  soaring  from  below. 
And  Memory,  writing  all  mine  eyes  did  see  ; 
So  shall  thy  greatness  yet  more  nobly  show. 

Then  I  began  :   "O  Poet  guiding  me,  ^° 

Test  well  my  courage,  see  if  it  avail. 
Ere  to  that  high  task  I  am  sent  by  thee. 

The  sire  of  Silvius,  so  thou  tell'st  the  tale. 
Yet  subject  to  decay,  did  reach  the  clime 
Immortal,  nor  did  sense  corporeal  fail.  "* 

If,  therefore,  the  great  Foe  of  every  crime 
Was  thus  benign  to  him,  as  knowing  well 
The  who,  the  what, — high  end  in  far-off  time. 

Not  unmeet  seems  it,  where  wise  reasonings  dwell. 
For  he  of  our  dear  Rome  and  its  great  might  ^ 

Was  chosen  sire  in  Heaven  empyreal ; 

1-3  An  echo  of  yEti.  iv.  522-528.  The  pilgrim,  in  that  dusk  of  eve,  enters, 
he  alone  of  all  that  live  (Virgil,  of  course,  belongs  to  another  order),  on  his 
marvellous  journey.  The  sense  of  solitariness  in  his  aspirations  reminds  us 
of  the  words  said  to  have  been  spoken  by  him  when  it  was  proposed  that  he 
should  go  on  an  embassy  to  Rome.  "  If  I  stay,  who  is  to  go?  If  I  go,  who 
is  to  stay?" 

11  Misgivings,  self-distrust,  fears,  come  to  Dante,  as  they  have  come  to 
other  prophets — to  Moses  (£xod.  iv.  10),  to  Isaiah  {/sat.  vi.  5),  to  Jeremiah 
(/er.  i.  6).  The  "sire  of  Silvius"  (  =  i'Eneas),  St.  Paul  as  the  "chosen 
vessel,"  these  had  a  work  to  do  which  justified  the  withdrawing  of  the  veil 
of  the  Unseen.  Had  he,  the  citizen  of  Florence,  anything  like  a  similar 
vocation  ?  2  Cor.  xii.  4,  however,  speaks  only  of  St.  Paul's  vision  of  Paradise 
and  the  third  heaven.  Was  Dante  thinking  of  the  P'ision  0/  St.  Paul,  a 
French  poem  of  the  13th  century,  of  the  type  of  the  Vision  of  Fra  Alberigo, 
which  gives  prominence  to  the  sufTeiings  of  the  lost?     (Ozan.  p.  343.) 

21  The  "heaven  empyreal"  is  described  in  Conv.  ii.  4  as  a  region  of  light 
and  flame,  the  calm  peaceful  abode  of  God  and  the  spirits  of  the  blessed. 
Comp.  Cic.  Somn.  SciJ>.  c.  4,  and  Par.  xxx.  52. 

25 


HELL  CANTO  II 

But  this  and  that,  to  speak  truth  definite. 
Were  fixed  and  stablished  for  the  Holy  See 
Where  the  great  Peter's  Vicar  sits  of  right ; 

He,  in  that  journey,  where  he  won  from  thee  ^^ 

His  glory,  heard  of  things  from  whence  did  flow 
The  Papal  mantle  and  his  Victory. 

There  later  did  the  Chosen  Vessel  go 

To  bring  back  comfort  for  that  one  true  creed 
Which  opes  to  us  salvation  from  our  woe.  ^ 

But  why  should  I  go  ?     Who  will  this  concede  ? 
T  nor  ^neas  am,  nor  yet  am  Paul  ; 
Worthy  of  that  nor  I  myself  indeed. 

Nor  others  deem  me.     Wherefore,  to  this  call 

If  now  I  yield,  I  fear  me  lest  it  be  ^ 

A  journey  vain.     Wise  art  thou  ;  more  than  all 

I  speak  thou  knowest."     And  behold,  as  he 

Who  wills  and  wills  not,  and  by  new  thoughts  tost. 
Changes  his  plan,  and  all  his  projects  flee. 

So  stood  I  on  that  dusky  hillside  lost  ;  *° 

For  musing  still,  the  work  all  ran  to  waste, 
That  at  the  outset  sped  its  uttermost. 

"  If  I  have  well  thy  words'  true  meaning  traced," 
Then  answered  me  that  noble  Poet's  shade, 
"  Thy  soul  is  now  with  coward  fear  disgraced,  *^ 

33  The  sensitiveness  of  the  poet  mingles  with  the  self-knowledge  of  the 
man.  He  has  winced  under  the  criticism  which  treated  him  as  only  a 
writer  of  sonnets  and  the  like,  and  sneered  at  his  claim  to  take  his  place 
among  the  great  poets  of  mankind,  to  write  of  his  beloved  one  what  had 
never  yet  been  written  by  man  of  woman  (K.  N.  c.  43).  So  in  the  Conv. 
(i.  3)  he  says,  not  without  a  touch  of  bitterness,  that  he  ''  has  seemed  vile  in 
the  eyes  of  many"  on  account  of  his  poverty  ;  that  "  every  work  of  his  was 
less  prized,  both  what  had  been,  and  what  was  to  be  "wrought."  In  C.  iv. 
100-102,  xxiv.  94-99,  we  trace  the  same  self-consciousness.  He,  as  a  reader 
of  the  Ethics,  had  probably  learned  that  the  man  who  is  great  of  soul  is  one 
who  counts  himself  worthy,  being  worthy,  of  great  things  (Arist.  Eth. 
Nic.  iv.  3). 

**  The  evil  to  be  cured  is  the  self-distrust  which  draws  back  from  a  high 
vocation.  The  remedy  is  found  in  the  consciousness  of  an  election  Others, 
whom  he  worships  with  an  adoring  love,  are  watching  over  him,  praying  for 
him.  He  may  have  critics  and  enemies,  hut  "  those  that  are  with  him  are 
more  than  they  that  are  against  him  "  (2  Kings  vi.  16). 
26 


HELL  CANTO  II 

Which  often  hath  man's  spirit  overweighed. 
So  that  it  turns  him  from  his  high  emprise, 
As  some  false  vision  makes  a  beast  afraid. 

That  thou  from  out  this  fear  of  thine  may'st  rise 

I  why  I  came  and  what  I  heard  will  say.  ^ 

When  first  I  looked  on  thee  with  pitying  eyes, 

I  was  among  the  souls  that  hang  midway; 
And  lo  !  a  Lady  called  me,  blest  and  fair. 
So  that  I  asked  wherein  I  might  obey. 

Bright  were  her  eyes  beyond  the  star's  compare,  " 

And  she  began  in  accents  soft  and  kind. 
With  voice  angelic,  such  as  they  speak  there: 

'O  Mantuan  spirit,  thou  of  courteous  mind. 
Whose  fame  doth  still  in  yonder  world  endure, 
And  while  the  world  lasts  still  its  place  shall  find,    ^ 

My  friend,  not  Fortune's,  on  the  slope  obscure 
And  desolate  is  so  entangled  there. 
That  he   through   dread   turns  back   from   progress 
sure ; 

52  The  state  of  the  souls  that  "  hung  midway  "  is  described  more  fully  in 
C.  iv.  It  is  characteristic  of  Dante's  tendency  to  the  "larger  hope"  (for 
which  see  again  Par.  xix.  70)  that  though  his  theology  formally  excluded 
these  from  the  beatific  vision  for  which  they  perpetually  yearned,  he  yet 
thinks  of  them  as  not  shut  out  from  the  communion  of  saints,  and  capable  of 
higher  ministries  of  service,  not  without  its  reward  of  praise,  even  than  those 
of  angels. 

55  TAe  star  is  the  Sun  (Conv.  iii.  5).     Comp.  Wtsd.  vii.  29. 

57  «'  Such  as  they  speak  there."  Lit.  "  in  her  own  language."  The  words 
are  commonly  assumed  to  mean  the  Italian  of  Florence  ;  but  the  mention  of 
the  "angelic  voice'  justifies  the  paraphrase.  She  spoke  to  Virgil  in  the 
dialect  of  heaven. 

58  "Courteous."  Dante's  frequent  use  of  the  epithet  is  eminently  sugges- 
tive as  to  his  own  ideal  of  the  manner  of  a  noble  nature.  It  is  used  again  of 
Virgil  (1.  134,  iii.  121),  of  the  Angel  of  Purgatory  {^Purg.  ix.  92),  of  Oderisi 
{Purg.  xi.  85),  of  Thomas  Aquinas  (/'ar.  xii.  in). 

61  The  words  of  Beatrice  must  be  read  in  combination  with  those  oi  Pitrg. 
XXX.  103-145.  He  who  had  loved  her  had  proved  faithless,  had  fallen  from 
the  ideal  with  which  she  had  inspired  him  ;  but  he  is  still  her  friend,  and  the 
fact  that  he  is  not  Fortune's  friend  also  gives  him  a  claim  on  her  compassion. 
To  exclude  this  intensely  personal  feeling  and  to  see  in  Beatrice  only  part  of 
the  "machinery"  of  an  epic,  the  allegorical  representative  of  Theology,  is  to 
confess,  or  at  least  to  prove,  oneself  incapable  of  entering  into  Dante's  mind 
and  thinking  as  he  thought. 

27 


HELL  ^  CANTO  II 

And  much  I  fear  lest  he  already  bear 

A  doom  that  makes  my  succour  all  too  late,  ^ 

From  that  which  I  in  Heaven  of  him  did  hear. 

Now  rouse  thyself,  and,  with  thy  speech  ornate, 
And  with  what  skill  to  free  him  thou  may'st  know, 
Help  him,  nor  leave  me  thus  disconsolate. 

I  Beatrice  am  who  bid  thee  go ;  ^° 

I  come  from  clime  which  to  regain  I  yearn : 
Love  moved  me,  and  from  love  my  speech  doth  flow. 

When  to  my  Lord's  high  presence  I  return, 
By  me  thy  praise  shall  oftentimes  be  shown.' 
Then  she  was  silent  :  I  began  in  turn  :  '' 

'  O  Lady  of  great  virtue,  thou  alone 

Dost  raise  mankind  to  pass  the  furthest  height 
Of  that  bright  heaven  by  lesser  circles  known; 

So  much  doth  thy  behest  my  soul  delight. 

E'en  service  done,  repute  of  sloth  would  gain ;  * 

Thou  need'st  not  more  thy  purpose  bring  to  light, 

But  tell  the  cause  why  thou  dost  not  refrain 
From  passing  downward  to  this  centre  drear 
From  that  wide  realm  thou  longest  to  regain.' 

'  Of  what  thou  seek'st  so  eagerly  to  hear,'  ^ 

She  answered  me,  '  I  briefly  now  will  tell 
Why  I  to  enter  here  have  felt  no  fear. 

68  In  Dante's  theology  the  spirits  of  the  blest  know  what  those  of  the  lost 
do  not  know  (C.  x.  97-108),  the  things  that  are  passing  on  the  earth,  seeing 
them,  as  it  were,  in  the  mirror  of  the  Divine  Omniscience.  They  are  touched 
with  sorrow  for  those  whom  they  have  left  below,  and  are  capable  of  consola- 
tion. They  can  leave  Paradise  for  a  while  on  ministries  of  mercy,  and  enter 
into  the  abode  of  the  lost  without  suflTering  hurt  (1.  92).  They  can  bring 
some  increase  of  comfort  even  to  the  souls  that  are  at  rest  though  not  in  bliss, 
by  reporting  to  the  Supreme  King  the  faithfulness  of  their  service  (1.  47). 

76  So  in  y.  JV.  c.  10,  Beatrice  had  been  described  as  "  the  queen  of  virtue." 
The  "  heaven  by  lesser  circles  known  "  is  that  of  the  moon  (Par.  ii.  30). 
Mankind  excels  all  else  that  is  in  that  "  sphere  beneath  the  moon,"  because 
there  is  in  its  humanity  the  "promise  and  potency"  of  a  perfection  and  a 
beauty  like  that  of  the  glorified  Beatrice  (comp.  Purg.  xxx.  115,  and  the 
Canzone  of  Conv.  ii.)  The  ideal  transfiguration  of  Beatrice  which  we  find 
throughout  the  Comm.  finds  suggestive  parallels  (i)  in  Auguste  Comte's 
reverence  of  Clotilde  de  Vaux  as  the  perfect  type  of  the  Humanity  which  was 
the  only  object  of  his  worship,  and  (2),  on  a  lower  level,  in  the  term  which 
28 


HELL  CANTO  II 

Of  those  things  only  fear  in  us  should  dwell 
Which  have  the  power  to  work  another's  woe, 
Of  others  none  ;  they  are  not  terrible.  ^ 

I  by  God's  bounty  have  been  fashioned  so 

That    your   great    misery    leaves    me    sound    and 

whole, 
Nor  touches  me  yon  fiery  furnace'  glow. 

A  gentle  Lady  dwells  in  heaven  whose  soul 

So  feels  that  hindrance  whither  thee  I  send,  ®^ 

That  judgment  stern  on  high  owns  her  control. 

She  Lucia  called,  and  bade  her  to  attend. 
And  said,  "Thy  faithful  one  is  now  in  need 
Of  thee,  and  I  to  thee  his  cause  commend." 

Simon  Magus  is  said  to  have  applied  to  his  mistress  Helena  as  the  "  first 
great  thought  "of  God  (Euseb.  H.  E.  ii.  13). 

94  The  "gentle  lady"  is  none  other  than  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Our  Lady  of 
Pity,  the  symbol  of  prevenient  grace  {Far,  xx\\\\.  16),  who  here,  as  in 
Par.  xxxii.  8,  9,  is  represented  as  in  company  with  Beatrice  (symbol  of 
Divine  Wisdom),  and  wilh  Rachel  (symbol,  as  in  Pu^g.  xxvii.  104,  of  Divine 
Contemplation),  the  very  "  Queen  of  Heaven."  She  too  had  looked  with 
pity  on  the  wanderer  {Weg.  469).  In  the  V.  N.  (c.  29)  Beatrice  is  said  to 
have  been  made  a  sharer,  by  her  death,  in  the  glory  of  the  blessed  Queen  of 
Heaven. 

"7  The  choice  of  Lucia  may  be  connected,  without  much  risk  of  error, 
with  Dante's  personal  history.  The  martyr-saint  of  Syracuse,  who  in  the 
Diocletian  persecution  had  torn  out  her  eyes  that  her  beauty  might  not 
minister  to  man's  lust,  was  much  honoured  in  Florence,  and  two  churches, 
still  standing,  were  dedicated  to  her.  The  story  of  her  death  had  made  her 
the  patron-saint  of  all  who  suffered  from  diseases  of  the  eye,  and  Dante 
(K.  N'.  c.  40  ;  Conv.  lii.  9)  was  at  one  time  threatened  with  blindness. 
£x  voto  offerings  of  silver  eyes  are  still  seen  in  her  churches.  It  was 
natural  that  he,  after  the  manner  of  his  time,  should  look  to  her  as  having 
healed  him,  as  natural  as  that  the  outward  should  become  the  symbol  of  an 
inward  healing  ;  all  the  more  so  when  her  very  name  brought  with  it  the 
promise  of  illumination.  Another  S.  Lucia  of  the  convent  of  S.  Clara  at 
Florence,  and  of  the  Ubaldini  family,  who  lived  in  the  13th  century,  has 
been  suggested  {Scarf.)  as  the  one  that  Dante  may  have  had  in  view.  As 
both  churches  are  dedicated  to  Lucia  of  Syracuse,  I  incline  to  the  earlier  of 
the  two.  Witte,  however  {D,  F.  ii.  30),  finds  that  the  later  Lucia's  festival 
in  the  calendars  of  Florence  was  May  30,  and  conjectures  that  this  may 
have  been  Dante's  birthday  (May  was  certainly  the  month  of  his  birth, 
C.  XV.  55;  Par.  xxii.  112),  and  that  she  was  therefore  chosen  by  him  as  his 
patroness-saint.  It  is  curious  that  in  Cc7iv.  iii.  5,  Maria  and  Lucia  appear 
as  the  names  of  two  imaginary  cities  chosen  to  illustrate  the  theory  of  the 
spherical  form  of  the  earth.  It  would  be  no  strange  thing  in  hagiology  for 
the  attributes  of  the  earlier  to  have  been  transferred  to  the  later  saint. 
Lucia  appears  again  in  Purg.  ix.  55  ;  Par.  xxxii.  137. 
29 


HELL  CANTO  II 

And  Lucia,  foe  of  each  unpitylng  deed,  ^°° 

Hastened,  and  thither  came  where  with  me  stays 
Rachel,  of  whom  in  story  old  we  read. 
And  said  "  O  Beatrice,  God's  true  praise. 
Why  help'st  thou  not  the  man  that  loves  thee  so, 
That  he  for  thy  sake  left  the  vile  herd's  ways  ?       ^°' 

Dost  thou  not  hear  his  piteous  plaint  of  woe  ? 
Dost  thou  not  see  the  death  he  has  to  face, 
Wherefloods  that  shame  thestormiestsea'sboastflow?" 

Ne'er  in  the  world  went  men  at  such  swift  pace 

Their  good  to  gain,  or  from  their  loss  retreat,  "° 

As  I,  when  I  had  heard  such  words  of  grace. 

Did  take  the  downward  path  from  my  blest  seat. 
In  thy  fair  speech  confiding,  which  brings  praise 
To  thee  and  those  who  listen  at  thy  feet.' 

And  when  her  tale  she  ended,  then  her  gaze  "^ 

She  turned,  her  bright  eyes  wet  with  many  a  tear, 
And  so  she  made  me  come  without  delays. 

And  I,  as  she  desired  me,  sought  thee  here  ; 
I  made  thee  from  before  that  fierce  beast  rise. 
Which  stoppedquick  climbing  up  yon  mountain fair.^'^ 

What  ails  thee  then  ?  why,  why  halt,  lingering-wise  ? 
Why  doth  such  baseness  in  thine  heart  find  place  ? 
Why  hast  thou  not  bold  zeal  for  high  emprise. 

Since  three  such  ladies,  blest  of  God's  dear  grace. 
Care  for  thee  in  that  heavenly  company,  *" 

And  in  my  speech  such  promise  thou  may'st  trace  ?  " 

103  xhe  name  by  which  Lucia  addresses  Beatrice  is  as  an  echo  of  the 
V.  N.  c.  26.  Men  exclaimed,  as  they  saw  in  her  the  ideal  of  humanity, 
"  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  knoweth  to  work  so  wondrously."  Line  105 
epitomises  the  whole  story  of  the  V.  N.  It  was  through  his  love  for 
Beatrice  that  the  poet's  life  became  unlike  that  of  others,  with  different  aims 
and  with  a  soul  that  dwelt  apart. 

107  What  had  been  a  similitude  in  C.  i.  22  is  presented  more  objectively. 
The  poet  had  been  in  the  great  depths  and  the  floods  had  gone  over  him. 
Prosaic  commentators  have,  after  their  m.inner,  identified  the  "flood  "  with 
Acheron,  wliich  is  not  reached  till  C.  iii.  78. 

1^9  The  fierce  beast  is  the  wolf,  not  the  leopard,  of  C.  i.  It  may  be  worth 
while  noting,  as  we  part  from  the  symbolism,  that  the  lonza  of  the  original 
has  been  variously  rendered  as  "  leopnrd,"  "  panther,"  "  ounce,"  or  "  lynx." 
JO 


HELL  CANTO  III 

E'en  as  the  flowers,  beneath  the  night's  cold  sky- 
Bent  down  and  closed,  when  sunrisemakesthemwhite, 
With  open  blossoms  lift  their  stalks  on  high, 

So  did  I  then  with  my  half-vanished  might;  '*' 

And  such  good  courage  rose  within  my  heart 
That  I  began,  as  freed  from  all  affright: 

**0  gracious  she  who  did  the  helper's  part, 
And  courteous  thou  who  did'st  so  soon  obey 
The  words  of  truth  she  did  to  thee  impart  :  ^^ 

Thou  to  my  heart  such  yearning  dost  convey, 
With  those  thy  words,  to  journey  on  again, 
That  I  once  more  by  my  first  purpose  stay. 

On  then  ;  one  only  will  is  in  us  twain  ; 

Thou  Leader  art,  thou  Lord,  and  thou  my  Guide."  "" 
So  spake  I  ;  and  when  he  moved  on,  again 
I  too  that  pathway  wild  and  dreary  tried. 


7he  Gate  of  Hell — The  Company  of  the  Neutrals — Charon  and 
his  Passengers 

"  Through  me  men  pass  to  city  of  great  woe  ; 
Through  me  men  pass  to  endless  misery  ; 
Through  me  men  pass  where  all  the  lost  ones  go. 

127  The  simile  calls  for  notice — (i)  as  tlie  first  example  of  the  exquisite 
vividness  and  tenderness  with  which  Dante  looked  on  the  phenomena  of 
nature  ;  (2)  as  an  example  of  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  fantastic  exposition.  The 
flowers,  according  to  Rossetti  (Spir.  Ant.  Pap.  p.  392)  become  white,  and 
are  therefore  a  parable  of  the  poet's  conversion  from  the  Guelphism  of  the 
Neri  of  Florence  to  the  Ghibellinism  of  the  later  Bianchi.  Dean  Church's 
language  is  hardly  too  strong  when  he  says  of  this  system  of  interpretation 
that  it  solves  the  enigma  of  Dante's  works  by  imagining  for  him  "  a  character 
in  which  it  is  hard  to  say  which  predominates,  the  pedant,  the  mountebank, 
or  the  infidel  "  (Dante,  p.  84). 

1*9  In  his  new-born  courage  the  pilgrim  follows  his  leader  without  reserve, 
and  the  guidance  continues  till,  in  Purg.  xxx.  55,  Beatrice  takes  the  place 
of  Virgil. 

l-l*  The  inscription  on  the  gate  of  Hell  embodies  the  root  principle  of 

31 


HELL  CANTO  III 

Justice  it  was  that  moved  my  Maker  high, 

The  Power  of  God  it  was  that  fashioned  me,  ^ 

Wisdom  supreme  and  primal  Charity. 
Before  me  nothing  was  of  things  that  be. 

Save  the  eterne,  and  I  eterne  endure  : 

Ye  that  pass  in,  all  hope  abandon  ye." 
These  words  I  saw,  in  characters  obscure,  " 

Enwritten  o'er  the  summit  of  a  gate. 

"  Master,  their  cruel  drift  is  but  too  sure," 
I  said  :  he  skilled  my  thoughts  to  penetrate  : 

"  Here  it  is  meet  thou  leave  all  doubt  behind  ; 

'Tis  meet  that  thou  all  baseness  extirpate.  " 

We  to  the  place  have  come  where  thou  wilt  find, 

E'en  as  I  said,  the  people  sorrow-fraught, 

Those    who    have    lost    the    Good    supreme    of 
mind." 

Dante's  eschatology,  based  as  that  was  on  the  teaching  of  Aquinas.  Hell 
is  the  "  city  "  of  the  lost  (the  range  of  the  word  is  wider  than  that  of  the 
"city  of  Dis"  in  C.  viii.  68,  which  is  but  a  part  of  Hell),  as  Heaven,  the 
New  Jerusalem,  is  the  city  of  the  great  King  (C.  i.  128).  'I'he  misery  of  the 
lost  is  eternal  in  the  sense  of  "endless."  Its  existence  is  not  only  consistent 
with,  but  is  conditioned  by,  the  Divine  love,  which,  without  it,  would  be 
transformed  to  a  weak  and  aimless  indifference  to  evil.  In  its  formation  the 
three  Persons  of  the  Trinity,  each  with  His  characteristic  attribute,  the 
Omnipotence  of  the  Father,  the  Wisdom  of  the  Son,  the  Love  of  the 
Eternal  Spirit,  had  co-operated.  The  time  of  its  creation  was  fixed  as  after 
that  of  the  rebel  angels,  possibly  after  their  fall  (comp.  Matt.  xxv.  41),  who 
are  classified  as  among  the  "  things  eternal "  in  the  sense  of  everlasting. 
Its  last  and  most  terrible  feature  is  that  it  excludes  hops.  Those  last 
words  seem  to  have  perplexed  and  alarmed  the  pilgrim.  Could  he  enter 
through  the  gate  and  yet  retain  his  hope  of  better  things?  See  C.  viii.  126 
for  a  further  history  of  the  gate.  Commentators  have  discussed  the 
question  where  the  gate  was  supposed  to  stand,  some  arguing  for  the  cive 
near  Avernus,  as  in  ^n.  vi.,  some  for  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  as  being 
the  Antipodes  of  the  Mount  of  Purgatory.  The  debate  seems  a  somewliat 
profitless  one.  Dante,  at  all  events,  did  not  care  to  furni>h  data  for  its 
decision. 

'•*  The  answer  of  his  guide  removes  the  poet's  doubt.  His  faith  in  the 
three  heavenly  ladies,  in  God  Himself,  ought  to  have  taught  him  that  no 
powers  of  the  gates  of  Hell  should  prevail  against  one  who  was  under  such 
protection. 

18  The  "supreme  good  of  mind"  is  the  intuition  of  God  as  the  Truth  that 
alone  can  satisfy  its  cravings  (comp.  Conv.  i.  2,  ii.  14).  That  was,  as  it 
were,  the  first  axiom  of  theology,  as  in  Jo/in  xvii.  3,  finding  expression  in  all 
the  great  masters  of  that  science,  in  Origen,  and  Clement  cf  Alexandria,  in 
Augustine  and  Aquinas.  Comp.  Arist.  de  An.  c.  3. 
32 


HELL  CANTO  III 

Then  me,  his  hand  firm  clasped  in  mine,  he  brought, 
With  joyful  face  that  gave  me  comfort  great,  ^ 

Within  the  range  of  things  in  secret  wrought. 

There  sighs  and  tears  and  groans  disconsolate 
So  sounded  through  the  starless  firmament, 
That  at  the  outset  I  wept  sore  thereat. 

Speech  many-tongued  and  cries  of  dire  lament,  ^* 

Words  full  of  wrath  and  accents  of  despair. 
Deep  voices    hoarse    and    hands  where  woe    found 
vent, — 

These  made  a  tumult  whirling  through  the  air. 
For  evermore,  in  timeless  gloom  the  same. 
As  whirls  the  sand  storm-driven  here  and  there.       ^ 

And  I,  upon  whose  brain  strange  wildness  came, 
Said,  "  Master,  what  is  this  that  now  I  hear, 
And  who  that  race  whom  torment  so  doth  tame  ?  " 

And  he  to  me  :  "This  wretched  doom  they  bear, 
The  sorrow-smitten  souls  of  those  whose  name         ^ 
Nor  foul  reproach  nor  glorious  praise  did  share. 

19  The  "  clasped  hand  "  tells  of  an  experience  which  had  felt  the  power 
of  that  sacrament  of  human  help.  One  wonders  that  no  master  of  spiritual 
therapeutics  has  written  at  least  an  essay  on  the  evangelising  power  of  the 
hand  as  distinguished  from  the  voice.  In  this  case  it  brought,  as  by  a 
mesmeric  influence,  to  the  perplexed  mind  of  the  pilgrim  something  of  the 
serener  joy  with  which  his  more  experienced  guide  had  learnt  to  look  even 
on  the  most  terrible  manifestations  of  the  Divine  righteousness.  Human 
pity,  however,  was  not  extinct,  and  "at  first"  he  wept.  At  the  outset,  as 
throughout,  Virgil  is,  as  it  were,  the  Mentor,  the  higher  self,  of  the  poet  ; 
no  longer  the  classical  poet  of  the  age  of  Augustus,  but  Christianised, 
mediaevalised,  scholasticised,  interested  in  the  questions  and  politics  of  Italy 
in  the  13th  century  {Faur.  i.  440). 

3^  Foremost  and  most  numerous  among  the  lost,  Dante,  with  all  the 
thoroughness  of  a  strong  nature,  places  those  who  had  been  content  to 
remain  neutral  in  the  great  contest  between  good  and  evil.  Among  these  he 
may  have  recognised  chiefly,  it  may  be,  many  with  whom  he  had  been 
associated  at  Florence, — the  "  White  "  Guelphs,  the  party  headed  by  Vieri 
dei  Cerchi,  the  nouveaux  riches  of  the  city,  who  lacked  the  evil  strength  of 
the  "  Black  "  Guelphs  that  followed  Corso  Donati,  and  were  content  to  take 
life  easily  and  to  let  slip  opportunities  for  good  {Dino,  45  ;  Church,  45). 
There  is,  of  course,  no  real  contrast  between  this  feeling  and  Dante's  boast 
that  he  attached  himself  to  neither  of  the  two  contending  factions  of  his 
time,  but  formed  a  party  by  himself  (Par.  xvii.  69).  There  the  question  is 
between  two  forms  of  evil  ;  here  between  evil  and  good  ;  and  therefore  the 
saying,  "  He  that  is  not  with  us  is  against  us"  {Matt.  xii.  30),  holds  good 
in  its  fulness. 

33  c 


HELL  CANTO  III 

Mingled  are  they  with  those  of  evil  fame, 
The  angels  who  nor  rebels  were,  nor  true 
To  God,  but  dwelt  in  isolated  shame. 

Heaven,  fearing  loss  of  beauty,  spurned  that  crew  ;     " 
Nor  were  they  harboured  in  the  depths  of  Hell, 
Lest  to  the  damned  some  glory  might  accrue." 

And  I  :  "  O  Master,  what  doom  terrible 

Makes  them  lament  with  such  a  bitter  cry  ?" 

And  he  :  "  Full  briefly  I  the  cause  will  tell.  *^ 

No  hope  have  these  that  they  shall  ever  die. 
And  this  blind  life  of  theirs  so  base  is  shown. 
All  other  doom  they  view  with  envious  eye. 

Their  fame  the  world  above  leaves  all  unknown  ; 
Mercy  and  Justice  look  on  them  with  scorn.  ^ 

Talk  not  of  them  ;  one  glance,  and  then  pass  on." 

And  as  I  looked  I  sav/  a  standard  borne. 

Which  whirling  moved  with  such  a  rapid  flight, 
It  seemed  to  me  all  thought  of  rest  to  spurn  ; 

And  in  its  rear  a  long  train  came  in  sight,  " 

Of  people,  so  that  scarce  I  held  it  true 
Death  had  undone  such  legions  infinite. 

37  L?/i.  refers  vaguely  to  Clement  of  Alexandria  as  the  authority  for 
these  neutral  angels  who  waited  to  see  the  issue  of  the  conflict,  but  I  have 
not  succeeded  in  finding  the  passage.     Aquinas  makes  no  mention  of  them. 

*2  I  have  taken  alcuna  in  its  more  ordinary  sense,  which  seems  to  give  an 
adequate  meaning.  The  neutrals  were  not  received  into  Hell,  for  those 
that  were  there  would  have  had  the  glory  of  exulting  in  the  doom  of  those 
whose  weakness  had  brought  them  to  the  same  wretchedness  as  their  own 
more  active  evil  (see  C.  xii.  9).  The  other  rendering,  in  which  alcuna  is  taken 
as  =  "  none," — "  For  glory  none  the  damned  would  have  from  them," — 
seems  to  imply  that  the  damned  could  choose  their  company. 

46  It  is  characteristic  that  Dante  sees  in  the  total  loss  of  fame  in  the  world 
which  the  neutrals  have  left  a  heavier  doom  than  the  torments  suffered  by 
those  whose  name  is  still  remembered,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  in  that 
world.  The  "  last  infirmity  of  noble  minds "  exists  even  in  the  damned. 
Comp.  C.  xiii.  77,  XV.  120,  and  throughout  the  In/erno. 

52  The  punishment  is  clearly  symbolic.  The  sin  of  the  coward  neutrals 
was  that  they  had  followed  public  opinion,  the  cries  and  banners  of  the 
majority.  Now  they  are  condemned  to  follow  such  a  banner  through  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  its  ever  changing  vacillations.  That  is  the  righteous 
doom  of  the  aurte  po^ularis  captator. 

34 


HELL  CANTO  III 

And  when  among  the  crowd  some  forms  I  knew, 
I  looked,  and  lo  !   I  saw  his  spectre  there 
Who  basely  from  his  calling  high  withdrew.  ^ 

Forthwith  I  understood  and  saw  full  clear, 
These  were  the  souls  of  all  the  caitiff  host 
Who  neither  God  nor  yet  His  foes  could  bear. 

These  wretched  slaves,  who  ne'er  true  life  could  boast. 
Were  naked  all,  and,  in  full  evil  case,  ^ 

By  gnats  and  wasps  were  stung  that  filled  that  coast  ; 

And  streams  of  blood  down-trickled  on  each  face. 
And,  mingled  with  their  tears,  beneath  their  feet, 
Were  licked  by  worms  that  wriggled  foul  and  base. 

And  when  I  further  looked  on  that  drear  seat,  '° 

On  a  great  river's  bank  a  troop  I  saw. 
Wherefore  I  said,  "  O  Master,  I  entreat 

60  In  accordance  with  the  law  implied  in  1.  49,  the  man  who  made  il gran 
rifiuto  is  not  even  named,  and  hence  there  is  a  wide  field  for  conjecture. 
Esau,  who  sold  his  birthright  {Heb.  xii.  16),  Diocletian,  the  young  ruler 
who  had  great  possessions  (^Matt.  xix  22),  Vieri,  or  Torrigiano,  dei  C:rchi 
(see  above  on  1.  34,  and  Faur.  i.  177),  who  at  some  political  crisis  deserted 
his  party,  have  been  suggested  by  different  commentators.  On  the  whole, 
however,  the  earliest  tradition,  given  by  Boccaccio  (Comtn.  in  loc),  is 
probably  the  truest.  Piero  da  Morrone,  who  had  led  a  hermit's  life  in  the 
mountain  of  that  name  in  the  Abruzzi,  was  elected  Pope  at  Perugia  in  1294, 
and  took  the  name  of  Celestine  V.,  was  persuaded  by  Cardinal  Benedetto 
Gaelani  that  it  was  against  his  soul's  health  to  retain  the  pomp  and  power 
of  the  Papacy,  and  solemnly  resigned  his  office,  Gaetano  being  chosen  as 
his  successor  as  Boniface  VIII.  By  some  the  act  was  looked  on  as  an  act 
of  supreme  saintliness,  and  under  John  XXII.  (1310-15)  Celestine  was 
canonised  and  his  praises  were  celebrated  by  Petrarch  (De  ^li.  Solit.).  It 
was  not  strange,  however,  that  Dante,  writing  prior  to  the  canonisation, 
and  tracing  all  his  own  misfortunes  and  those  of  his  country  to  the  evil 
influence  of  Boniface,  should  take  a  different  view,  and  see  in  that  with- 
drawal from  a  high  calling  and  election  the  act  of  a  nature  weak  and 
therefore  miserable,  caring  more  for  ease  and  quiet  than  f)r  duty.  See 
Milman's  Lat.  Chris,  vi.  456-465;  Gower,  Con/.  Ant.  ii.  Serrav.,  as  a 
good  Franciscan,  argues  vehemently  against  the  Celestine  theory,  and 
refers  the^ra«  rijiuto  to  Esau.  Gui.  Pis.,  and  Castelv.  agree  in  referring 
the  passage  to  Celestine,  but  urge  on  Dante's  behalf  that  he  wrote  before 
the  Church  had  given  her  judgment  on  his  abdication. 

•>5  The  p'rnalty  is  again  appropriate.  Those  who  had  never  clothed  them- 
selves with  righteousness  were  left  naked.  Those  who  had  shrunk  from  the 
Slinging  reproaches  of  men  were  now  exposed  defenceless  to  the  stings  of 
gnats  and  wasps.  The  "tears"  of  their  unavailing  remorse  expose  them 
10  yet  further  shame.  Is  not  this  in  its  turn  a  parable  of  the  doom  that  falls 
on  the  trimmers  and  the  waverers  even  on  earth? 

■?!  The  "great  river"  is  Acheron,  the  stream  of  lamentations.  The 
"  law  "  which  leads  the  souls  thither  is  set  forth  in  1.  121-127. 

35 


HELL  CANTO  III 

That  I  may  know  who  these  are,  what  the  law 
Which  makes  them  seem  so  eager  to  pass  o'er  ; 
As  through  the  dim  light  they  my  notice  draw."      ^^ 

And  he  to  me  :  "  Of  this  thou  shalt  know  more, 

When  we  our  footsteps  on  the  pathway  set       ■»0  "'O 
That  runs  by  Acheron's  melancholy  shore." 

And  then,  with  eyes  where  shame  and  awe  were  met. 
For  fear  lest  he  my  words  displeased  should  mark,    * 
Till  we  the  river  reached  I  spake  not  yet. 

And  then  behold  !   toward  us  came  a  bark. 
Bearing  an  old  man,  white  with  hoary  age. 
And  saying,  "  Woe  to  you,  ye  spirits  dark  ; 

Hope  never  ye  to  see  Heaven's  heritage  :  ^ 

I  come  to  take  you  to  the  other  coast. 
Eternal  gloom,  and  heat,  and  winter's  rage. 

And  thou,  who  standest  there,  thou  living  ghost. 
Withdraw  thyself  from  these  who  come  as  dead." 
But  when  he  saw  I  did  not  leave  that  host,  ^ 

"  By  other  ways,  by  other  ports,"  he  said, 

"  Thou  wilt  that  region  reach,  not  here  :  received 
In  lighter  bark  than  mine  thou  shalt  be  led." 

Then  spake  my  Leader  :  "  Charon,  be  not  grieved  ; 
This  is  there  willed  where  Will  and  Power  are  one,    "^ 
Nor  question  what  should  be  at  once  believed." 

Then  quiet  were  those  cheeks,  with  beard  o'ergrown. 
Of  that  old  pilot  of  the  livid  lake. 
Around  whose  eyes  two  fiery  circles  shone. 

83  The  picture  of  the  grim  ferryman  of  Hell  is,  as  it  were,  a  replica  of 
that  in  y£«.  vi.  299-301.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  Christian  and  classical 
mythology  were  mingled  without  scruple.  The  introduction  of  Charon  in 
Michael  Angelo's  Last  Judgment  in  the  Sistine  Chapel  is  probably  not  an 
unconscious  parallelism,  but  a  direct  reproduction  of  the  thought  of  Dante. 
That  artist  was  a  devout  student  of  Dante,  wrote  sonnets  in  his  honour,  and 
is  said  to  have  illustrated  the  whole  of  the  Comtn.  in  sketches  that  were  lost 
at  sea.     See  D.  Gesell.  ii.  211-225. 

91  The  "other  ports"  are  in  Purg.  ii.  loi  identified  with  the  mouth  of  the 
Tiber,    to   which,  in  the  strange  belief  of  the  time,   the   souls  that  were 
admitted  to  Purgatory  flitted  after  death.     Charon's  refusal  rests  (i)  on  the 
ground  that  Dante  is  not  dead,  (2)  on  the  fact  that  Hell  is  not  his  doom. 
36 


HELL  CANTO  in 

But  those  poor  souls,  whose  naked  forms  did  quake,   ''"' 
Changed  colour  when  they  heard  his  accents  hoarse. 
And   gnashed    their    teeth,    and    then    blaspheming 
spake 
jd  and  kith  and  kin  their  bitter  curse. 
Mankind,  the  place,  the  time,  the  evil  lot 
Of  their  engendering,  and  their  birth  perverse.        ^"^ 

Then  drew  they  all  together  to  one  spot. 
With  bitter  weeping,  on  that  dreary  shore, 
Which  waits  each  soul  where  fear  of  God  dwells  not. 

And  Charon,  fiend  with  eyes  that  flamed  all  o'er, 
With  signs  and  nods  around  him  gathers  all,  "" 

And  strikes  each  lingering  spirit  with  his  oar. 

And  as  in  autumn  time  the  sere  leaves  fall. 
Each  after  other,  till  the  branch,  left  bare, 
Yields  to  the  earth  its  spoils  funereal, 

In  like  wise  Adam's  evil  offspring  fare.  "' 

They  from  that  shore  leap,  beckoned,  one  by  one, 
As  hawk  that  at  its  lure  swoops  down  through  air. 

So  they  o'er  those  dark  waters  swift  are  gone. 
And  ere  o'  the  further  side  they  disembark. 
On  this  another  troop  together  run.  '^ 

"  My  son,"  my  kind  guide's  accents  bade  me  hark, 
"  Those  who  beneath  the  wrath  of  God  have  died. 
From  all  lands  gather  to  this  region  dark, 

U2  Another  echo  from  Virgil  {/En.  vi.  309) : 

"  Quam  multa  in  silvis  auctumni  frigore  primo 
Lapsa  cadunt  folia." 
A  V,  i.  in  1.  114  gives  "  sees  on  the  earth." 

117  The  first  of  a  long  series  of  similitudes  from  the  art  of  falconry,  in 
which  we  may  well  believe  the  poet,  as  an  expert,  watched  his  birds,  in  their 
varying  moods  and  acts,  with  a  sympathetic  insight  (C.  xvii.  127,  xxii.  130 ; 
Purg.  xiii.  70,  xix.  64 ;  Par.  xix.  64). 

121  The  lines  that  follow  give  the  "  law  "  promised  in  1.  76,  and  it  is  one  of 
profound  ethical  significance.  The  doom  of  the  souls  that  die  in  the  wrath 
of  God  {sc.  in  utter  impenitence)  cannot  be  altered  ;  but  they  acknowledge 
that  doom  to  be  just.  Fear  vanishes  wiih  hope,  and  turns  into  desire. 
They  seek  to  know  the  worsf,  and  meet  their  punishment,  some  with 
blasphemies  (1.  102)  and  defiance  (C.  xiv.  63,  xxiv.  3),  some  with  the  calmness 
of  resignation  (C.  v.  88-93).     Comp.  Faur,  i.  431. 

37 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

And  eager  are  to  pass  across  the  tide  ; 

For  God's  stern  justice  so  doth  urge  them  on,  ^^ 

That  fear  becomes  desire  unsatisfied  : 

But  never  passeth  here  a  guiltless  one. 

If,  therefore,  Charon  vex  his  soul  for  thee. 

What  his  words  mean  will  now  to  thee  be  known." 

So  ended  he,  then  shook  exceedingly  ^™ 

That  gloomy  region,  so  that  still  my  fear 
Bathes  me  with  sweat,  though  but  in  memory  : 

The  tearful  land  sent  forth  a  blast  of  air. 

Whence  there  flashed  forth  as  lightning's  vermeil  light. 
Which  not  one  organ  of  my  sense  did  spare  :  ^^ 

I  fell  as  one  whom  slumber  robs  of  sight. 


CANTO  IV 

TAe  First  Circle — The  Limbo  oj  Infants — T/ie  DiueUers  in  tht 
Elysian  Fieldi 

There  came  to  break  that  deep  sleep  of  the  brain 
A  peal  of  thunder  loud,  that  startled  me 
As  one  whom  force  doth  to  awake  constrain. 

And  with  mine  eyes  thus  rested,  I  to  see 

Turned  me,  stood  up,  and  steadfast  gazed  around,    "^ 
To  know  the  region  where  I  chanced  to  be. 

In  very  deed  upon  the  brink  I  found 
Myself,  of  that  abyss  of  direst  woe, 
Where  thunders  roar,  of  groans  that  know  no  bound. 

130  Are  the  earthqualce  and  the  thunder  and  the  flash  and  the  sleep  to  be 
looked  on  as  a  poetical  device  to  evade  the  difficulty  as  to  passing  Acheron 
in  Charon's  boat,  or  may  we  think  of  them  as  entering,  without  volition,  as 
men  dream  of  thunder,  into  Dante's  vision?  Anyhow  he  leaves  the  tale  of 
his  passage  over  the  river  untold.  1  he  story  of  Purg.  ix.  10-60  suggests  the 
thought  of  a  journey  like  Ezekiel's,  in  "  the  visions  of  God  "  (Ezek.  viii.  3). 

7  Acheron  has  been  passed,  how  we  are  not  told.  As  in  Rez:  xi.  19, 
"lightnings  and  thunders  and  voices"  are  the  prelude  of  the  Apocalypse. 
The  seer  stands  at  the  mouth  of  the  great  pit  which  he  is  tode.-cend  through 
its  ever  narrowing  circles  and  varied  scenery  till  he  reaches  the  centre  of  the 

38 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

Dark  was  it,  deep,  o'erclouded  so  below,  ^° 

That  though  I  sought  its  depths  to  penetrate. 
Nought  to  mine  eyes  its  form  did  clearly  show. 

"  Now  pass  we  down  to  that  world  desolate," 
Began  the  poet,  pale  with  sore  affright  : 
"  I  will  go  first  ;  thou  shalt  as  second  wait."  '^ 

And  I,  who  had  that  change  of  hue  in  sight, 
Said,  "  How  shall  I  go,  if  e'en  thou  dost  fear. 
Whose  wont  it  is  my  doubting  to  set  right  ? " 

And  he  to  me  :  "  Their  anguish  who  dwell  there 
My  face  with  pity's  pallor  overspread,  ^ 

Which  to  thy  thought  as  terror  did  appear. 

Onward,  for  long  the  way  we  have  to  tread." 
And  so  he  passed,  and  made  me  enter  in 
Where  the  first  circle  girds  the  abyss  of  dread. 

And  here,  so  far  as  hearing  truth  might  win,  ** 

No  other  plaint  rose  up  than  that  of  sighs, 
That  made  the  air  all  tremulous  within. 

This  from  the  sorrow  without  pain  did  rise. 
Endured  by  those  vast  multitudes  and  great. 
Which  infants,  men,  and  women  did  comprise.         ^ 

earth.  Where,  on  what  spot  on  earth,  the  descent  begins,  we  are  net  told. 
Canto  xxxiv.  115  seems  to  suggest  a  valley  near  Jerusalem,  possibly  that  of 
Jehoshaphat  (C.  x.  11).  The  nearest  approach  to  measurement  js  in  the 
tenth  Bolgia,  which  is  described  as  having  a  circuit  of  twenty-two  miles 
(C.  xxix.  9,  XXX.  86).  Commentators  (Velutelli),  in  whom  the  surveyor 
temperament  predominated,  have  given  the  diameters  of  each  circle  as 
varying  from  280  miles  in  the  first  to  si  miles  in  the  lowest  (JV.  Q.  4th 
S.  /.,  607). 

21  The  emotions  caused  by  the  torments  of  the  lost  seem  to  vary  with 
their  character.  Here,  entering  on  his  own  region,  to  which  he  and  his 
friends  were  doomed,  there  is  a  "pity"  that  pales  Virgil's  face  as  if  with 
fear.  In  presence  of  more  virulent  evil,  pity  and  piety  become  incompatible 
(C.  XX.  28). 

25-42  The  state  described  is  that  of  the  levissittta  damnatio,  which 
Augustine  {c.  Julian,  v.  44)  assigns  to  unbaptized  infants,  and  which  Dante 
extends  to  the  heathen  who  have  sought  righteousness.  There  is  no  pain, 
but  neither  is  there  hope  for  the  beatific  vision,  which  the  soul  desires  in 
vain.  Comp_.  Purg.  vii.  25-36.  Dante  accepts  the  dogma  of  his  Church, 
but  here,  as  in  Par.  xix.  70-78,  not  without  the  wish  that  he  could  believe 
otherwise.  He  has  to  crush  the  instinctive  questionings  of  what  we  feel  to 
have  been  his  truer  nature.  MSS.  and  Serrazi.'s  Latin  version  arc  in  favour 
of  the  reading  parte  in  1.  37,  but  porta  gives  a  far  preferable  meaning. 
So  Lub. 

39 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

Spake  my  good  Master  :  "Ask'st  thou  not  their  fate, 
Who  are  these  spirits  that  thus  meet  thy  view  ? 
Ere  thou  pass  on  I  will  thou  know  their  state, 

That  they  sinned  not  ;  if  they  have  merits  too. 

These,  baptism  lacking,  nothing  help  alone,  ^ 

The  portal  this  of  Faith  thou  holdest  true. 

And  if  they  lived  ere  Christian  creed  was  known, 
They  did  not  in  due  measure  God  adore  ; 
And  of  this  number  I  myself  am  one  : 

Through  these  defects,  not  other  guilt  or  more,  *" 

We  are  among  the  lost,  but  so  far  pained. 
That  without  hope  we  live  in  yearning  sore." 

When  I  heard  this,  great  grief  my  heart  constrained 
Because  some  persons  good  and  brave  I  knew. 
Who  in  that  outer  limbus  were  detained.  ^ 

"  Tell  me,  O  Lord  and  Master,  tell  me  true," 
So  I  begin  in  eager  wish  to  know 
The  faith  which  every  error  doth  subdue, 

"  Did  ever  any  by  his  merits  go. 

Or  by  another's,  hence,  and  then  was  blest  ?  "  ^ 

And  he,  who  knew  what  lay  my  speech  below, 

^  The  term  linibus  {WteraWy />inge,  the  borderland  between  pain  and 
peace)  had  become  technical  in  the  mediaeval  eschatology.  Milton  uses  it 
in  his  "  limbo  of  vanities,"  and  it  survives  in  the  popular  phrase  tn  limbo. 

49-69  The  question  is  answered  from  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  "  descent 
into  Hades,"  the  "preaching  to  the  spirits  in  prison  "  (i  Pet.  iii.  19),  as 
interpreted  by  the  Gospel  of  Nicodemus.  (See  the  Study  on  the  Descent 
into  Heli  in  the  writer's  Spirits  in  Prison.)  Dante  follows  the  current 
view  that  the  purpose  of  the  descent  was  to  deliver  the  patriarchs  of  the 
Old  Testament  from  their  imprisonment  and  transport  them  to  Paradise. 
The  epithet  "  loyal"  or  "  obedient  "  belongs  to  Moses  (Heb.  iii.  5),  and  not 
to  Abraham,  as  Longfellow  takes  it.  Rachael,  as  the  type  of  heavenly 
contemplation  (C.  ii.  202  ;  Purg.  xxvii.  104  ;  Par.  xxxii.  8),  is  named,  while 
Sarah  and  Rebecca  and  Leah  are  passed  over.  In  the  "  Mighty  One  "  of 
1.  53  we  have  an  instance  of  the  reverence  which  leads  the  poet,  while  in 
Hell,  to  avoid  uttering  the  name  of  the  Christ.  Other  traces  of  the  Gospel 
of  Nicodemus  are  found  in  C.  viii.  125.  The  statement  of  1.  62  is  that 
embodied  in  the  TV  Deum,  "When  Thou  hadst  overcome  the  sharpness  of 
death.  Thou  didst  open  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  to  all  believers."  In  I.  69 
I  follow  Lombardi  in  the  rendering  vincia  (from  the  Lat.  vincire)  as  "girt  " 
rather  than  "conquered,"  as  most  iranslators  and  commentators  take  it. 
The  symbolism  seems  to  l>e  Ih.^t  the  wise  and  good  ;imoog  the  heathen  were 
as  lights  shining  in  the  darkne:>s. 

40 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

Made  answer  :  "  I  was  but  a  new-come  guest, 
When  here  I  saw  a  Mighty  One  descend. 
And  on  His  brow  the  conqueror's  crown  did  rest  ; 

He  bade  our  first  sire's  spirit  with  him  wend,  " 

Abel,  his  son,  and  Noah  too  did  bring, 
Moses,  lawgiver,  loyal  to  the  end, 

Abraham  the  Patriarch,  David,  too,  the  king, 
Israel,  with  all  his  children,  and  his  sire, 
Rachel,  for  whom  he  bore  such  suffering,  " 

And  others,  whom  He  placed  in  Heaven's  blest  choir  ; 
And  thou  shouldst  know  that  human  spirits  none 
Gained  before  these  salvation's  joy  entire." 

Not  for  his  speaking  ceased  we  to  pass  on, 

But  tracked  the  pathway  through  the  forest  dense, —  ^ 
Forest,  I  say,  of  thick  trees,  souls  each  one. 

Not  long  had  we  our  journey  made  from  thence, 
This  side  the  pit's  mouth,  when  I  saw  a  flame. 
Which  girt  a  hemisphere  of  gloom  intense. 

Some  distance  were  we  still  when  that  sight  came,       '" 
Yet  not  so  far  but  I  discerned  in  part 
That  those  who  dwelt  there  were  of  honoured  fame. 

"Thou,  who  dost  honour  knowledge  and  each  art. 
Say  who  are  these  that  in  such  honour  dwell. 
It  sets  them  from  the  others'  ways  apart  ?  "  '* 

And  he  to  me  :  "  That  fair  fame,  honoured  well, 
Which  in  thy  life  above  there  thou  dost  know. 
Wins  grace    in    Heaven  which    makes    them    thus 
excel." 

Meantime  a  voice  I  heard  which  sounded  so : 

"  Give  honour  to  the  poet  loftiest ;  ^ 

His  shade  returns,  that  left  short  while  ago." 
After  the  voice  was  silent  and  at  rest. 

Four  mighty  shades  I  saw  towards  me  move, 

With  looks  that  showed  as  neither  pained  nor  blest. 

72-80  We  note  the  emphasis  of  the  fourfold  iteration  of  the  thought  and 
syllables  of  "  honour." 

4» 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

Then  spake  to  me  the  Master  whom  I  love  :  ^ 

"  Look  thou  on  him  who  walks  with  sword  in  hand, 
Whose  place  before  the  three  his  rank  doth  prove  : 

See  Homer,  sovran  poet  of  our  band  : 

Horace  comes  next,  for  biting  satire  known  ; 

Ovid  the  third,  and  Lucan  last  doth  stand.  "* 

Because  with  me  they  all  are  so  far  one. 

Sharing  the  name  that  one  voice  uttered  clear. 
They  do  me  honour  ;  well  that  deed  is  done," 

Thus  saw  I  round  that  lord  whom  all  revere, 

Lord  of  high  song,  that  goodly  company,  ** 

While  he  o'er  others  soared  like  eagle  there. 

And  when  in  converse  some  short  time  passed  by. 
They  to  me  turned  with  sign  of  greeting  kind, 
And  he,  my  Master,  smiled  as  pleased  thereby. 

85-80  The  list  is  significant  as  showing  whom  Dante  recognised  as  the  great 
poets  of  ilie  world,  (i)  Homer  he  knew  possibly  only  at  second  hand,  as  in 
the  quotations  given  in  the  translation  of  Aristotle  {Conv.  iv.  20),  or  by 
repute.  There  is  no  evidence  that  he  had  studied  him  as  he  had  studied 
Virgil.  Homer  was  translated  into  Latin  at  the  request  of  Petrarch  or 
Boccaccio  by  Leontius  of  Calabria,  but  an  earlier  version,  ascribed  to  a 
Pindar  of  Thebes,  was  current  before  Dante's  time  (Qu.  Rev.  xxi.  512), 
though  Conv.  i.  7  shows  that  he  did  not  know  it.  On  the  other  hand,  it 
may  be  noted  that  he  at  least  knew  a  "little  Greek,"  and  could  discuss 
etymologies  {Conv.  ii.  3,  iii.  11,  iv.  i),  and  C.  xxvi.  90-142  implies  an 
acquaintance  with  at  least  the  story  of  the  Odyssey.  The  passages  usually 
cited  as  showing  that  he  knew  no  Greek  {Conv.  i.  7,  ii.  15)  do  not  prove  it. 
In  fact,  the  former  tends  the  other  way.  A  critic  who  could  say  that  the 
Psalms  lost  their  beauty  in  passing  from  Hebrew  into  Greek  must  have  had 
some  knowledge  of  both  languages.  (2)  The  prose  works  of  Dante  suppiy 
many  quotations  from  Horace  {Conv.  passim),  but  I  do  not  remember  any 
traces  of  him  in  the  Connnedia.  (3)  Ovid  is  frequently  quoted  in  the  Conv. 
(ii.  6,  iv.  27,  and  in  the  Comnt  ),  and  in  the  transformation  scene  of  C.  xxv. 
Dante  distinctly  challenges  a  comparison  with  the  Metamorphoses.  (4)  Lucan 
seems  to  have  been  almost  as  much  studied  as  Virgil,  probably  because  the 
subject  of  the  Pkarsalia,  like  that  of  the  yEneid,  fell  in  with  his  theories  as 
to  the  Divine  vocation  of  the  Roman  people  and  its  empire.  With  him  also 
Dante  challenges  comparison  in  C.  xxv.,  and  quotations  abound  both  in  the 
Contin.  and  Conv.  Statins,  also  among  the  poet's  best  loved  authors,  is, 
for  a  special  reason,  placed  not  here,  but  in  Purgatory  {Purg.  xxi.  lo,  89, 
€t  al.). 

92  The  "  one  voice  "  was  that  which  came  simultaneously  from  the  lips  of 
the  four  poets. 

95  It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  words  apply  to  Virgil  or  Homer. 
Th«  latter  seems  the  more  probable.  A  v.  I.  gives  the  plural,  "of  those 
lords." 

4» 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

And  yet  more  honour  they  to  me  assigned,  ^°'' 

For  they  with  me  their  lofty  rank  did  share, 
And  I  was  sixth  amid  that  might  of  mind. 

So  did  we  onward  to  the  bright  light  fare, 
Speaking  of  things  it  is  as  good  to  keep 
In  silence,  as  to  speak  was  then  and  there.  ^°^ 

We  came  where  nobly  rose  a  fortress  steep. 
Which  seven  high  walls  encircled  as  a  screen, 
Guarded  by  streamlet  flowing  fair  and  deep. 

O'er  this  we  passed  as  it  firm  ground  had  been. 

And  with  these  sages  I  through  seven  gates  went.  "° 
We  reached  a  field  where  all  was  fresh  and  green  ; 

A  tribe  was  there  with  eyes  sad,  grave,  down-bent. 
And  power  to  rule  was  on  their  faces  traced; 
Seldom  they  spoke,  grave  voice  with  sweetness  blent. 

So  moving  on  one  side,  our  feet  we  placed  "^ 

On  open  ground,  high,  full  of  light  and  clear. 
And  all  were  seen  who  that  fair  region  graced. 

102  Literature  hardly  records  an  instance  of  sucli  supreme  self-confidence. 
Approximate  parallels  are,  however,  found  in  Bacon's  committing  his  fame 
"  to  the  care  of  future  ages,"  and  in  Milton's  belief  that  he  could  write  what 
"  the  world  would  not  willingly  let  die."  The  world  has,  however,  set  its 
seal  on  Dante's  judgment  of  himself,  and  placed  him  not  only  with  that 
goodly  company,  but  among  the  "first  three"  of  the  true  Israel  of  poets. 
We  remember  once  more  that  the  "Master  of  those  who  know  "  had  defined 
the  "great  soul"  as  one  that  counted  itself  worthy  of  great  things  being 
worthy  (^Eth.  Nicom.  iv.  3).  In  Purg.  xxii.  97-100  we  have  the  names  of 
others — Euripides,  Simonides,  Plautus,  Terence — who  were  at  least  among 
the  "chief  thirty,"  but  iEschylus  and  Sophocles  are  not  even  named. 
Except  HS  mentioned  by  Latin  writers  they  were,  of  course,  unknown  to 
Dante. 

104  xhe  poet's  reticence  has  its  parallel  in  2  Cor.  xii.  4.  Here  also  there 
were  things  which  it  "was  not  lawful,"  was  not  possible,  "for  a  man  to 
utter."  May  we  think  of  the  calling  of  the  poet,  and  the  conditions  of 
excellence  in  it,  and  the  mysteries  of  Nature  and  of  history,  as  among  the 
things  that  were  in  Dante's  mind  ? 

107  Xhe  seven  walls,  each  with  its  separate  gate,  tnay  represent  the 
Triviutn  (grammar,  rhetoric,  dialect)  and  Quadriviutit  (music,  arithmetic, 
geometry,  astronomy)  of  mediaeval  education,  but  I  do  not  feel  sure  that  the 
symbolism  is  more  definite  than  that  of  the  "seven  pillars  "  of  the  house  of 
Wisdom  in  Ptov.  ix.  i. 

113  The  description  falls  in  with  the  report  which  others  give  of  Dante's 
own  demeanour  as  cold,  stern,  reticent  {Bocc,  V.  D.\  Vill.  ix.  136),  and 
his  hatred,  like  Bishop  Butler's,  of  people  who  "will  be  talking."  Laughter 
and  jests  he  left  (as  in  the  story  of  his  reply  to  Can  Grande)  to  the  buffoons 
in  whom  princes  delighted,  on  the  prmciple  that  like  loves  like. 
43 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

There  straight  before  me,  lo !  the  forms  appear, 

On  the  enamelled  green,  of  spirits  wise. 

Whom  to  have  seen  makes  me  myself  revere.  '* 

I  saw  Electra  with  her  brave  allies ; 

Hector  and  brave  -^neas  there  I  knew  ; 

Caesar,  all  armed,  with  clear  and  falcon  eyes; 
Penthesilea  and  Camilla  too 

I  saw,  and  with  them  Latium's  ancient  king,  ^^ 

Who  with  his  child  Lavinia  sat  in  view. 
Brutus  I  saw,  who  Tarquin  low  did  bring, 

Cornelia,  Marcia,  Julia,  Lucrece,  nigh, 

And,  all  alone,  Saladin  wandering. 
When  I  to  gaze  a  little  raised  mine  eye,  '* 

The  Master  I  beheld  of  those  that  know, 

Sit  'midst  his  wisdom-loving  family; 

121-130  With  the  exception  of  Saladin,  every  name  is  connected  with  Rome 
and  with  Troy,  as  the  stock  from  which  the  Romans  sprung.  Electra  is  the 
daughter  of  Atlas  and  mother  of  Dardanus  (^».  viii.  134  ;  De  Mon.  ii.  3). 
The  "  falcon  eyes "  of  Caesar  came  from  Suetonius  (  nigris  vegttisque 
oculis,"  Jul.  Cees.  c.  45).  For  Camilla  see  note  on  C.  i.  107.  Penthesilsea 
is  the  Queen  of  the  Amazons  who  fought  on  the  side  of  Troy  (y£'«.  xi.  659- 
663).  Lucretia  is  naturally  associ.Ued  with  Brutus.  Marcia  is  there  but 
not  her  husband  Cato,  whom  we  meet  with  afterwards  as  the  warden  of  the 
Mount  of  Purgatory  (Pwr^.  i.  31),  and  whose  heroic  character  Dante  may 
have  learnt  to  admire  from  Lucan.  Saladin,  apart  from  these,  as  belonging 
to  a  different  race  and  faith,  is  named  in  Conv.  iv.  1 1  as  distinguished  for  his 
kingly  liberality. 

ldl~145  The  list  of  writers  that  follows,  like  that  of  heroes  that  precedes, 
throws  light  on  Dante's  preferences  as  a  student.  We  may  feel  sure  that  he 
had  known,  at  first  or  second  hand,  the  sages  whom  he  quotes.  The  ' '  Master 
of  those  who  know  "  is,  of  course,  Aristotle,  of  whom  he  speaks  in  Conv.  i.  i 
as  the  philosopher,  in  Conv.  iv.  2  as  "worthy  of  honour  and  obedience,"  and 
whose  works  (translated  into  Latin  from  Arabic  translations)  were  the  basis 
of  the  scholastic  philosophy  of  the  13th  century,  as  represented  by  Roger 
Bacon  and  Aquinas.  A  copy  of  Aristotle's  chief  works.  Ethics,  Physics, 
Metaphysics,  translated  from  the  Greek,  had  been  given  to  the  University 
of  Bologna  by  the  Emperor,  Frederick  II.  {Kineton,  i.  442  ;  Faur.  i.  336). 
No  less  than  seventy  quotations  from  his  works  are  found  in  the  Conv, 
(Ozan.  204).  He  alone  sits  as  a  teacher.  Plato,  whose  idealism  was  more 
in  harmony  with  Dante's  mind  than  the  more  formal  system  of  Aristotle, 
may  have  been  known  by  him  through  that  philosopher,  through  Cicero,  and 
through  Augixstine.  Democritus  of  Abdera  (b.c.  460-357)  the  "  laughing 
philosopher,"  maintained  the  "  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,"  as  explaining 
the  phenomena  of  the  universe.  Diogenes  (b.c.  412-323)  was  the  cynic 
philosopher  of  Sinope  ;  Anaxagoras  of  Clazomenae  (b.c.  500-423),  the  master 
of  Pericles  and  Socrates;  Thales  of  Miletus  (b.c.  636-546),  the  founder  of 
the  Ionian  school  of  physicists ;    Heraclitus  (/?.  B.C.  513),  the  "weeping 

44 


HELL  CANTO  IV 

All  gaze  admiring,  all  due  honour  show. 

There  Socrates  and  Plato  saw  I  pass, 

Who  near  him  stand  while  others  further  go ;  *^ 

He  who  to  chance  assigned  the  world's  great  mass, 

Thales  and  Zeno  and  Empedocles, 

Diogenes  and  Anaxagoras, 
And  Heraclite  and  Dioscorides, 

Explorer  true  of  every  quality,  '*" 

Orpheus  and  Linus,  Tully  joined  with  these. 
Sage  Seneca  and  Euclid's  science  high, 

Averrhoes,  who  the  far-famed  Comment  wrote, 

Hippocrates  and  Galen,  Ptolemy 
And  Avicen, — the  rest  I  cannot  note  ;  ^*'* 

For  my  full  theme  bids  me  so  quick  pursue. 

That  far  beneath  the  fact  my  poor  words  float. 
That  group  of  six  divideth  into  two. 

My  wise  Guide  leads  me  by  another  way. 

Out  of  the  calm  to  where  winds  trembling  blew;    '^° 
And  1  pass  on  where  no  light  sheds  its  ray. 

philosopher"  of  Ephesus;  Zeno  (b.c.  362-264),  the  founder  of  the  Stoic 
school.  These  Dante  may  have  read  of  in  Aristotle,  or  possibly  in  Diogenes 
Laertius.  In  Dioscorides,  the  physician  and  botanist  of  Anazarba  in  Cilicia 
(2nd  cent.  A.D.)  and  in  Hippocrates  (b.c.  460-357),  the  father  of  Greek  medi- 
cine, and  Galen  (a.d.  130-200),  its  later  master,  we  may  trace  the  poet's 
studies  as  a  member  of  the  Florentine  guild  of  apothecaries  {Speziali).  The 
order  of  the  names,  Orpheus,  Tullius,  Linus  (or  in  some  MSS.  Livius),  seems 
determined  by  rhythmical  necessities.  Euclid,  the  mathematician  (/?.  B.C. 
400),  and  Ptolemy  (/?.  a.d.  i 39-161),  the  astronomer  and  geographer,  represent 
the  scientific  side  of  the  poet's  studies,  in  which  the  treatise  De  A  quA  et  TerrA 
shows  him  to  have  been  a  master.  Avicenna  (orlbn  Sina),  the  Arabic  phy.->ician 
of  Spain  (a.d.  980-1037),  and  Averrhoes  (Ibn  Roschid),  the  metaphysician  and 
philosopher  (a.d.  1149-1198),  whose  commentary  on  Aristotle  was  from  the 
13th  to  the  14th  century  the  great  text-book  of  all  European  universities,  are 
notice.ible  as  showing  the  range  of  Dante's  reading.  The  student  of  English 
literature  will  remember  that  Hippocrates,  Galen,  Discorides,  Aviceno, 
Averrhoes,  appear  as  part  of  the  physician's  library  in  Chaucer  (Prol.  to 
C.  T.,  11.  434,  435),  and  that  Roger  Bacon  constantly  refers  to  them. 

151  Homer,  Luc.in,  Ovid,  Horace  remain  in  their  quiet  and  peaceful 
region.  On  leaving  them,  the  two  travellers  pass  once  more  into  the  dark- 
ness. 


45 


HELL  CANTO  V 

The  Second  Circle — Sins  of  the  Flesh — Paolo  and  Francesco 

From  the  first  circle  thus  I  passed  below 

Down  to  the  second,  which  less  space  doth  bound. 
And  keener  pain,  that  goads  to  cries  of  woe. 

There  dreaded  Minos  stands  and  snarls  around, 

And  tries  the  crimes  of  those  that  enter  in,  ^ 

Judges,  and  sends  as  he  his  tail  hath  wound. 

I  say  that  when  the  soul  whom  Hell  doth  win 
Comes  in  his  presence,  all  its  guilt  confessed. 
And  when  that  grand  inquisitor  of  sin 

Sees  in  what  part  of  Hell  that  soul  should  rest,  ^^ 

He  round  his  frame  his  mighty  tail  doth  throw 
As  oft  as  he  would  fix  its  grade  unblest. 

Ever  in  size  the  crowd  before  him  grew. 
And  each  in  turn  approaches  and  is  tried  ; 
They  speak,  they  hear,  and  then  are  thrust  below.  '^ 

"  O  thou  who  to  this  hostel  dark  hast  plied 

Thy  way,"  spake  Minos,  when  he  saw  me  there. 
And  for  a  time  his  great  work  put  aside, 

**  How  thou  dost  come,  in  whom  dost  trust,  take  care : 
Let  not  the  open  entrance  cheat  thy  soul."  ^ 

Then  spake  my  Guide:    "What    means  this  cry  I 
hear? 

1  From  the  Lintbus  or  first  circle  of  the  pit  the  pilgrims  descend  into  the 
second.  Here  there  is  the  pcena  sensus  as  well  as  the  pcena  dainni,  and 
tho5e  who  are  in  it  are  (L  38)  those  that  have  yielded  to  the  sins  of  the 
flesh. 

■*  Minos,  like  Charon,  is  reproduced  from  Virgil  (^2"«.  vi.  431),  and  fulfils 
the  same  function  and  occupies  an  analogous  position.  Dante,  however, 
with  a  strange  grotesqueness  which  culminates  in  the  fiend-sports  of  C.  xxii. 
transforms  him  into  a  demon,  and  the  fate  of  those  whom  he  condemns  is 
decided  not  by  the  "  urn,"  as  in  Virgil,  but  by  the  twisting  of  his  tail. 
Partly  this  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  he  remembered  he  was 
writing  what  he  had  chosen  to  call  a  "  Comedy,"  partly  by  his  wish  that 
after  the  limbus  and  Elysian  fields  of  the  last  canto,  there  should  be  nothing 
in  Hell  that  had  either  dignity  or  beauty.  Mediaeval  art  abounds,  it  need 
hardly  be  said,  in  examples  of  a  like  grotesqueness  in  the  gargoyles  and 
misereres  of  its  churches. 

20  An  echo  of  the /acilis  descensus,  the  "  patet  atri  Janua  Ditis,"  ol 
j^n.  vi.  126  ;  perhaps  also  of  Matt.  vii.  13.     Minos,  as  an  evil  power,  seeks 
to  thwart  the  pilgrimage  which  is  to  end  in  the  salvation  of  the  pilgrim. 
46 


HELL  CANTO  V 

Seek  not  his  destined  journey  to  control; 
So  is  this  willed  where  what  is  willed  is  one 
(Ask    thou   no    more)  with    might   that  works    the 
whole." 

Then  to  min^e  ears  deep  groans  an  entrance  won,         -* 
Before  unheard  :  J  now  had  reached  a  spot 
Where  smote  mine  ear  loud  wail  and  many  a  groan. 

I  came  unto  a  place  where  light  was  not. 
Which  murmurs  ever  like  a  storm-vext  sea. 
When  strife  of  winds  in  conflict  waxes  hot.  ^" 

That  storm  of  Hell,  which  rest  doth  never  see, 
Bears  on  the  spirits  with  its  whirling  blast, 
And,  hurling,  dashing,  pains  exceedingly. 

When  they  before  the  precipice  have  passed, 

There  pour  they  tears  and  wailing  and  lament,  ^' 

There  curses  fierce  at  God's  high  power  they  cast. 

And  then  I  knew  this  pain  did  those  torment 
Who  had  in  life  been  sinners  carnally, 
And  bowed  their  reason  to  lust's  blandishment. 

And  as  the  starlings  through  the  winter  sky  ^" 

Float  on  their  wings  in  squadron  long  and  dense. 
So  doth  that  storm  the  sinful  souls  sweep  by : 

Here,  there,  up,  down,  it  drives  in  wild  suspense. 
Nor  any  hope  their  agony  allays. 
Or  of  repose  or  anguish  less  intense.  ^ 

And  as  the  cranes  fly  chanting  out  their  lays. 
And  in  the  air  form  into  lengthened  line. 
So  these  I  looked  on  wailing  went  their  ways. 

Souls  borne  where  fierce  winds,  as  I  said,  combine. 
Wherefore  I  spake  :  "  O  Master,  who  are  these,      ^ 
The  people  who  in  this  dark  tempest  pine?" 

28-49  The  penalty  is  agaia  retributive  {IVisd.  xi.  17).  The  doom  of  those 
who  have  yielded  to  the  impulses  of  passion  is  to  be  driven  in  never  ending 
restlessness,  through  the  darkness  which  they  have  made  their  own,  by  the 
whirling  blast.  Their  movements  recall  to  the  mind  of  the  observer  of 
Nature  the  flight  of  starlings,  their  cries  ("  iai"  was  the  Provencal  term  for 
a  dirge)  those  of  cranes. 

47 


HELL  CANTO  V 

"  The  first  of  these,"  he  said,  "  of  whom  'twould  please 
Thy  mind  to  hear,  was  once  an  empress  famed 
Of  many  peoples,  nations,  languages; 

So  sunk  was  she  in  foul  lusts,  evil-shamed,  " 

That  in  her  law  she  owned  no  rule  but  will, 
That  so  her  guilt  might  pass  less  sorely  blamed. 

Semiramis  is  she,  whose  record  still 

We  read,  who  Ninus  married  and  replaced  : 

She  ruled  the  lands  the  Soldan's  power  doth  fill.      ^ 

The  next  is  she  who,  by  her  love  disgraced. 
Sought  death,  unfaithful  to  Sichseus  dead. 
Then  Cleopatra,  wanton  and  unchaste." 

Then  Helena  1  saw,  whose  beauty  bred 

Such  evil  times  ;  the  great  Achilles  too,  ^ 

Who  to  the  end  in  love's  might  combated. 

Paris  and  Tristan,  thousands  more  in  view. 

He,  with  his  finger  pointing,  showed  and  named. 
Whom  love  from  this  our  earthly  life  withdrew. 

59  The  reading  adopted  by  Bianchi,  Liibin,  and  others,  sugger  dette, 
"  who  Ninus  suckled  and  embraced,"  though  it  has  less  MS.  authority,  gives 
a  better  sense.  The  sin  of  incest  was  that  noted  in  Orosius  (Hist.  i.  4),  the 
text-book  of  Dante's  ancient  history,  as  the  crowning  sin  of  the  Messalina- 
like  lust  of  Semiramis  (see  Gower,  Cony.  Am.  v.).  The  succedeite,  in  itself 
pointless,  probably  originated  in  a  euphemistic  feeling  foreign  to  the  mind 
of  Dante.  Orosius,  indeed,  names  Ninyas  as  the  son  of  Semiramis,  Ninus 
as  lier  husband  :  but  the  names  are  so  closely  allied  that  each  may  have 
been  mistaken  by  transcribers  for  the  other.  Possibly,  however,  Dante 
derived  his  knowledge  from  the  Tresor  of  his  master,  Brunetto,  and  he 
(1.  26)  represents  Semiramis  as  the  wife  of  Ninus  I.,  the  mother  of  Ninus 
II.,  succeeding  him  on  his  death,  and  then,  as  also,  perhaps  before,  startling 
men  by  her  cruelty  and  lust.  So  far  as  it  goes,  this  justifies  the  reading 
succedette, 

61  Dido.     Comp.  yS«.  iv.  630-692 ;  Par.  ix.  97. 

66  The  story  alluded  to  is  that  of  the  love  of  Achilles  for  Polyxena,  the 
daughter  of  Priam,  which  led  him  to  enter  unarmed  into  the  temple  of 
Apollo,  where  he  was  met  and  slain  by  Paris.  See  Gower,  Conf.  Ant.  iv. 
The  Briseis  story  of  Homer,  //.  i.,  indicates  the  same  temperament. 

67  Paris  may  be  the  lover  of  Helen,  the  Sir  Paris  of  Troy  of  Spenser 
(F.  Q.  iii.  9,  34),  but  mediseval  romances  also  had  a  hero  of  that  name  (see 
Wart.  H.  E.  P.  i.  146).  and  the  collocation  with  Tristan  suggests  the  thought 
that  Dante  may  refer  to  him.  The  cycle  of  Arthurian  legends  had  found  its 
way  in  the  12th  century  {Faur.  i.  286),  through  the  Provenjal  poetry,  into 
Italian  and  Latin  verse-histories.  The  story  of  the  love  of  Tristan  and 
Iseult,  wife  of  Mark,  the  King  of  Cornwall,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Morte 
d' Arthur,  and  has  been  told  in  our  own  time  by  Matthew  Arnold  and 

48 


HELL  CANTO  V 

And  as  I  listened  to  my  Teacher  famed,  ^" 

Telling  of  all  those  dames  and  knights  of  old, 
I  was  as  lost,  and  grief  its  victory  claimed. 

And  I  began  :  "O  Poet,  I  am  bold 

To  wish  to  speak  awhile  to  yonder  pair. 

Who  float  so  lightly  on  the  storm-blast  cold."  ''^ 

And  he  to  me  :  "  Thou'lt  see  them  when  they  fare 
More  near  to  us  :  then  pray  them  by  that  love 
That  leads  them:  they  will  to  thy  call  repair." 

Soon  as  the  winds  their  forms  towards  us  move. 

My  voice  I  lift  :  "  O  souls  sore  spent  and  driven,     ^ 
Come  ye  and  speak  to  us,  if  none  reprove." 

And  e'en  as  doves,  when  love  its  call  has  given. 
With  open,  steady  wings  to  their  sweet  nest 
Fly,     by    their    will     borne    onward    through     the 
heaven. 

So  from  the  band  where  Dido  was  they  pressed,  ^ 

And  came  towards  us  through  the  air  malign. 
So  strong  the  loving  cry  to  them  addressed. 

"  O  living  creature,  gracious  and  benign. 

Who  com'st  to  vsit,  through  the  thick  air  perse. 
Us,  whose  blood  did  the  earth  incarnadine,  '''^ 

Were  He  our  friend  who  rules  the  universe, 

We  would  pray  Him  to  grant  thee  all  His  peace. 
Since  thou  hast  pity  on  our  doom  perverse. 

Tennyson.  Other  references  to  the  same  literature  are  found  in  vv.  128, 
137  ;  C.  xxxii.  62  ;  Par.  xvi.  15.  The  most  striking  illustraiion  of  its  popu- 
larity is  found,  perhaps,  in  the  fact  that  in  the  14th  century  Italian  travellers 
who  visited  England  were  eager  to  see,  above  all  other  objects  of  interest, 
the  Tower  of  Guinevere  in  London,  the  rums  of  Caraelot,  the  valley  of 
Tristan's  victory,  and  the  cave  of  Merlin  (Fas.  iv.  23). 

82  For  a  third  time  the  flight  of  birds  supplies  the  observer  with  an  illus- 
tration. 

89  "  Perse,"  though  now  obsolete,  has,  from  its  use  by  Chaucer  {Prol. 
441),  a  legitimate  claim  to  be  treated  as  an  English  word.  The  colour  is 
defined  in  Conv.  iv.  20  as  a  mixture  of  black  and  purple,  the  black  pre- 
dominating. 

93  The  lender  sympathy  of  the  speaker  reflects  that  of  the  writer.  They, 
more  than  any  other  of  the  lost,  enlist  his  pity.  They  alone  breathe,  or  fain 
would  breathe,  their  prayer  for  bis  peace. 

49  » 


/ 


HELL  CANTO  V 

Of  that  which  thee  to  hear  and  speak  shall  please 

We  too  will  gladly  with  thee  speak  and  hear,  "^ 

While,  as  it  chances  now,  the  wild  winds  cease. 

The  land  where  I  was  born  is  situate  there 
Where  to  the  sea-coast  line  descends  the  Po, 
To  rest  with  all  that  to  him  tribute  bear. 

Love,  which  the  gentle  heart  learns  quick  to  know,    ^"'^ 
Seized  him  thou  seest,  for  the  presence  fair 
They  robbed  me  of — the  mode  still  deepens  woe. 

87  The  story  of  the  two  lovers,  woven  into  a  romance  by  Boccaccio,  may 
be  told  more  briefly.  Francesca  was  the' daughter  of  Guido  da  Polenta, 
lord  of  Ravenna.  There  had  been  war  between  him  and  Malatesta,  lord 
of  Rimini.  A  marriage  was  planned  as  a  condition  of  peace  between 
Gianciotto,  the  eldest  son  of  the  latter,  and  Francesca  ;  but  as  Gianciotto 
was  deformed,  his  younger  brother,  Paolo  (Paolo  il  hello),  was  sent  to 
Ravenna  as  his  proxy  for  the  betrothal.  Francesca  loved  him,  and  thought 
that  he  was  to  be  her  future  husband.  On  her  arrival  at  Rimini  she  was 
undeceived,  but  the  passion  of  the  two  lovers  continued,  and  the  husband 
finding  them  together,  put  them  both  to  death.  They  were  buried  together, 
at  Pesaro,  whence  they  were  removed  to  Rimini,  and  three  centuries  later 
were  found  there  with  the  silken  garments  in  which  they  had  been  shrouded 
still  fresh  (Troja,  Veltro,  in  Gary).  The  story  must  have  been  well  known 
at  Ravenna  ;  but  if  it  was  first  known  to  Dante  after  he  went  there  in  A.D. 
1316,  it  must  have  been  a  comparatively  late  insertion  in  his  poem.  The 
date  of  the  murder  was  A.D.  izSg.  The  fact  that  Francesca  had  been 
Gianciotto's  wife  for  more  than  twelve  years,  and  that  Paolo,  who  was  the 
elder  brother,  had  also  been  married  for  sixteen  years,  gives  the  story  a 
somewhat  different  complexion  from  that  with  which  art  and  poetry  have 
invested  it  {Faur.  i.  483  :  IVeg:  30  ;  and  Tonini,  Memorie  Storiche  in  an 
Art.  by  T.  A.  TroUope  in  5'.  Paul s  Mag.  vol.  vii.)  In  his  earlier  life  Dante 
was  with  Francesca's  brother  at  the  battle  of  Campaldino  (1289),  and  her 
father  was  Podesta  of  Florence  in  1290.  His  latest  years  were  spent  under 
the  protection  of  her  nephew  at  Ravenna. 

87  The  description  indicates  Ravenna  as  pointing  to  its  being  on  the  coast 
of  the  Adriatic  Gulf,  just  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Po,  a  canal  from  which 
formerly  formed  its  harbour.  It  is  now  four  miles  from  the  sea  (Hare,  ii. 
299). 

100  As  tn  the  story  of  Ugolino  (C.  xxxiii.  19),  Dante  leaves  the  familiar 
det.iils  of  the  story  and  goes  to  the  heart  of  the  whole  matter,  to  facts  which 
could  have  been  known  to  none,  but  which  he  evolved,  with  a  marvellous 
vividness,  from  his  own  insight  into  what  must  have  been  ;  and  in  doing 
this  his  treatment  of  the  story,  in  its  reticence  and  its  modesty,  presents  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  way  in  which  the  story  might  have  been  told  by  a 
poet  of  coarser  nature.  If  it  is  true  that  "  brevity  is  the  soul  of  wit,"  it  is  no 
less  true  that  it  is  also  the  soul  of  that  indescribable  element  in  poetry  which 
we_  call  pathos.  The  story  has  been  dramatised,  and  with  variations,  by 
Leigh  Hunt  and  Silvio  Pellico,  and  translated  by  Byron. 

102  "  The  mode,"  sc.  the  suddenness,  the  shame,  the  brutal  ferocity,  of 
the  revenge  which  cut  the  lovers  off  in  "the  blossom  of  their  sins,"  with  no 
time  for  repentance.  A  v.l.  gives  tnondo,  which,  however,  has  little  to  com- 
mend it, 

50 


HELL  CANTO  V 

Love,  who  doth  none  beloved  from  loving  spare, 
Seized  me  for  him  with  might  that  such  joy  bred, 
That,  as  thou  seest,  it  leaves  me  not  e'en  here.        '°^ 

Love  to  one  death  our  steps  together  led; 

Caina  him  who  quenched  our  life  doth  wait." 
Thus  was  it  that  were  borne  the  words  they  said, 

And  when  1  heard  those  souls  in  sad  estate, 

I  bowed  my  face,  and  so  long  kept  it  low,  "° 

Till  spake  the  poet  :  "What  dost  meditate  ?" 

When  I  made  answer,  I  began,  "  Ah  woe ! 

What  sweet  fond  thoughts,  what  passionate  desire 
Led  to  the  pass  whence  such  great  sorrows  flow  ? " 

Then  I  turned  to  them  and  began  inquire,  ^'^ 

"  Francesca,"  so  I  spake,  "  thy  miseries 
A  pitying  grief  that  makes  me  weep  inspire. 

But  tell  me,  in  the  time  of  those  sweet  sighs. 
The  hour,  the  mode,  in  which  love  led  you  on 
Doubtful  desires  to  know  with  open  eyes."  ^^ 

And  she  to  me:  "A  greater  grief  is  none 
Than  to  remember  happier  seasons  past 
In  anguish;  this  thy  Teacher  well  hath  known: 

But  if  thou  seek'st  to  learn  what  brought  at  last 

Our  love's  first  hidden  root  to  open  sight,  *^' 

I'll  tell,  as  one  who  speaks  while  tears  flow  fast. 

108  Caina.  The  lowest  of  the  circles  of  Hell,  the  region  of  perpetual 
cold,  the  doom  of  the  treacherous  murderers  of  their  nearest  kindred  (C. 
xxxii.  58). 

112  The  question,  first  thought  and  then  uttered,  comes,  it  may  be,  from 
one  who  had  known  and  had  yielded  to  like  temptations.  It  was  from  no 
wish  to  weave  a  story  of  romance,  but  as  a  safeguard  for  himself  and  others, 
that  he  seeks  to  know  how  the  lovers  who  "  meant  no  ill  "  were  led  to  the 
sin  which  involved  them  both  on  earth  and  behind  the  veil  in  so  terrible  a 
doom. 

123  The  "teacher"  is  probably  Boethius,  to  whose  De  Consolatione 
Philosophi<e  Dante  (Conv.  i.  2.)  had  turned  in  his  grief  for  the  death  of 
Beatrice  :  '^ In/elicissimum  genus  est  in/ortu>ni fuisse  felicem  et  nnn  esse" 
(ii.  4)  The  thought  has  been  reproduced  in  English  literature  by  Chaucer 
{Trail,  and  Cres.  iii.),  and  in  Tennyson's  well-known  line — 

"  That  a  sorrow's  crown  of  sorrow  is  remembering  happier  things." 

51 


HELL  CANTO  V 

It  chanced  one  day  we  read  for  our  delight 

How  love  held  fast  the  soul  of  Lancelot  ; 

Alone  were  we,  nor  deemed  but  all  was  right  ; 
Full  many  a  time  our  eyes  their  glances  shot,  '^ 

As  we  read  on;  our  cheeks  now  paled,  now  blushed; 

But  one  short  moment  doomed  us  to  our  lot. 
When  as  we  read  how  smile  long  sought  for  flushed 

Fair  face  at  kiss  of  lover  so  renowned. 

He  kissed  me  on  my  lips,  as  impulse  rushed,  ^^ 

All  trembling;  now  with  me  for  aye  is  bound. 

Writer  and  book  were  Gallchault  to  our  will: 

No  time  for  reading  more  that  day  we  found." 
And  while  one  spirit  told  the  story,  still 

The  other  wept  so  sore,  that,  pitying,  I  ^■'^ 

Fainted  away  as  though  my  grief  would  kill, 
And  fell,  as  falls  a  dead  man,  heavily. 

128  The  story  is  found  in  the  ItaViSLn  romance  of  LnnceM of  i^e  Lake,  c.  66, 
as  given  in  Scart.  i.  46.  The  Queen  Guinevere  loved  Lancelot,  and  was 
loved  in  return,  but  it  was  through  Galeotto,  or  Gallthault,  that  they  were 
brought  together,  and  she,  at  his  prompting,  and  on  his  promise  of  secrecy, 
kissed  her  lover  (comp.  Par.  xvi.  15).  It  is  open  to  conjecture  what  grounds, 
if  any,  Dante  had  for  this  feature  of  the  story.  Was  the  romaunt  of  Lancelot 
found  in  the  room  where  the  lovers  met  their  fate  ?  Or  did  the  poet  enter 
his  protest  against  the  erotic  character  which  so  largely  tainted  this  form  of 
the  Provengal  literature  of  his  time?  Had  he  seen  in  others,  or  felt  in 
himself,  its  fatal  power  for  evil  as  a  stimulus  of  the  passions  which  it 
described  ?  Anyhow,  we  may  remember  that  Guido  Novello,  the  poet's 
host  at  Ravenna,  was  nephew  to  Francesca,  and  that  her  father  had  been 
Podesta  of  Florence  in  1290  {Faur.  i.  475),  and  that  there  may  therefore 
have  been  some  grounds,  within  Dante's  reach,  for  the  story  as  he  tells  it. 
Gallehault,  it  may  be  noted,  is  not  to  be  identified,  as  some  translators  have 
done,  with  the  Galahad  of  the  Arthurian  cycle,  who  appears,  as  in  Tennyson's 
poems,  as  the  pattern  of  a  stainless  purity. 

U2  The  one  solitary  instance  in  the  whole  poem,  of  the  pity  which  has  the 
same  effect  as  terror.     Comp.  "  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead"  (^Rev.  i.  17). 


S2 


HELL  '  CANTO  VI 

the  Third  Circle— Cerberus — Sins  of  Gluttony—  Ciacco 

Then  when  the  sense  returned  that  I  had  lost, 
Through  pity  for  those  two  so  near  allied, 
With  pangs  of  sorrow  stunned  and  tempest-tost, 

New  torments  and  new  tortures  on  each  side 

I  saw  around  me  as  I  onward  passed,  " 

And  turned,  and  here  and  there  the  prospect  spied. 

In  the  third  circle,  where  the  rain  falls  fast. 
Am  I, — eterne,  curst,  cold,  and  working  woe, 
Its  law  and  state  unchanged  from  first  to  last ; 

Huge  hail,  dark  water,  whirling  clouds  of  snow  ^^ 

There  through  the  murky  air  come  sweeping  on; 
Foul  smells  the  earth  which  drinks  this  in  below. 

And  Cerberus,  fierce  beast,  like  whom  is  none. 
Barks  like  a  dog  from  out  his  triple  jaws, 
At  all  the  tribe  those  waters  close  upon.  ^ 

Red  glare  his  eyes  and  taloned  are  his  paws, 
His  belly  large,  his  beard  all  greased  and  foul; 
Those  souls  he  tears,  flays,  quarters,  with  his  claws. 

That  rain-storm  makes  them  all  like  fierce  dogs  howl; 
This  side  with  that  they  vainly  seek  to  screen,  ^ 

And  round  and  round  those  wretched  sinners  roll. 

When  Cerberus,  that  great  serpent,  us  had  seen. 
His  mouth  he  opened  and  his  tusks  were  shown. 
And  not  a  limb  was  as  it  erst  had  been. 

And  then  my  Leader,  with  his  palms  out-thrown,         ^ 
Took  of  the  earth,  and  filling  full  his  hand, 
Into  those  hungry  gullets  flung  it  down: 

7  The  third  circle  is  that  of  the  gluttonous.  The  scene  is  painted  as  a 
contrast  to  the  banquets,  where  all  was  bright  and  warm  and  cheerful,  and 
the  wine-cup  passed  merrily,  and  the  air  was  laden  with  perfume,  for  which 
they  had  sold  their  lives.  Cerberus,  described  as  in  ASn.  vi.  417-420,  but, 
like  Charon,  trai\sformed  into  a  demon  (1.  32),  is  rightly  the  watch-dog  of  the 
region,  his  triple  jaws  and  his  eager  cravings  being  the  symbol  of  the 
unrestrained  voracity  of  those  who  were  condemned  to  it.  They,  in  their 
turn,  lie  grovelling  in  the  foulness  of  the  mire,  as  they  had  grovelled  in  their 
lifetime  in  the  foulness  of  their  pleasures.  There  mny  be  worse  sins  and 
53 


HELL  CANTO 

And  as  a  dog  who,  craving  food,  doth  stand 
Barking,  grows  quiet  while  his  food  he  gnaws, 
And  feels  and  fights  at  hunger's  fierce  command. 

So  was  it  with  those  vile  and  filthy  jaws 
Of  Cerberus  the  fiend,  who  roars  so  dread. 
The  souls  would  fain  that  it  might  deafness  cause. 

And  then  upon  those  souls  our  feet  did  tread 

Whom   the   fierce   rain   keeps  prostrate   on   the 

ground. 
In  semblance  men,  yet  shadows  vain  and  dead. 

Prone  on  their  face  they  all  of  them  were  found, 
Save  one,  who  rose  and  upright  sat  when  he 
Beheld  us  passing,  on  our  journey  bound. 

"  O  thou  who  thus  art  led  this  Hell  to  see," 
He  spake,  "  recall  me,  if  thou  hast  the  power; 
Thou  had'st  thy  being  ere  I  ceased  to  be." 

And  I  to  him :  "  Thy  anguish  keen  and  sore. 
It  may  be,  makes  me  utterly  forget. 
So  that  it  seems  I  ne'er  saw  thee  before; 

But  tell  me  who  thou  art,  who  thus  art  set 
In  such  sad  region,  punishment  so  strange, 
That  worse  may  be,  but  fouler  never  yet  ?" 


worse  torments  thin  those  of  eluttony,  but  of  all  vices  it  was,  from  Dante's 
standpoint,  the  most  loathsome  (1.  48). 

■*s  For  the  first  time  Dante  brings  before  us,  as  in  Hell,  one  whom  he  had 
himself  known,  and  who  recognises  him.  The  name  Ciacco,  which  means 
Hog,  may  have  been  the  actual  name  of  an  individual  (it  is  said  to  occur  in 
old  Florentine  records),  or  the  sobriquet  of  a  known  person,  or  the  represen- 
tative of  a  class,  the  Dives,  as  it  were,  of  Florence.  The  whole  Canto 
appears  to  have  been  written  at  a  time  when  Dante's  mind,  in  his  poverty 
and  exile,  was  embittered  by  the  thouglit  of  the  selfish  luxury  of  those  whom 
he  had  known  in  Florence.  He  would  show  them  "  to  what  complexion 
they  must  come  at  last  "  if  they  continued  so  to  live.  This,  I  venture  to 
think,  rather  than  any  personal  or  political  vindictiveness,  is  the  explanation 
of  his  naming  so  many  of  those  whom  he  places  in  his  Hell.  Abstract  con- 
demnations of  evil  made  little  impression.  He  must  show  them  that  the  life 
of  A.  B.  and  C.  D.,  if  they  had  died  and  "  made  no  sign,"  must  end  in  their 
condemnation.  The  very  consciousness  that  he  was  not  really  condemning 
would  give  greater  freedom  to  his  speech.  Anyhow,  he  welcomed  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a  thrust  at  the  luxurious  "  envy  "  that  kept  him  from  his  beloved 
city. 

54 


HELL  OANTo  VI 

And  he  to  me:  "Thy  city,  where  free  range 

Envy  doth  take,  the  sack's  full  measure  crowned,     ^ 
Held  me  ere  1  that  life  serene  did  change; 

You  townsmen  called  me  Ciacco,  swinish  hound; 
For  that  foul  sin  of  gluttonous  appetite, 
I,  as  thou  see'st,  am  thus  rain-pelted  found. 

Nor  am  I  here  alone  in  this  ill  plight,  ^ 

For  all  thou  see'st  are  subject  to  like  pain 
For  like  offence."    Then  utterance  failed  him  quite; 

And  I  replied:  "Thy  sorrows  me  constrain 
To  weep,  Ciacco,  for  thy  lot  forlorn; 
But  say,  know'st  thou  what  future  doth  remain         * 

For  dwellers  in  that  city,  faction-torn; 

If  one  just  man  there  be;  the  occasion  whence, 
Tell  me,  that  it  by  discord  so  is  worn  ? " 

And  he  to  me:  "From  strife  prolonged,  intense, 

They  will  to  blood  pass  on  ;  the  wilder  race  ^ 

Will  drive  the  other  forth  with  much  offence; 

A  little  while,  and  this  within  the  space 
Of  summers  three  shall  fall,  the  other  rise 
By  force  of  him  who  trims  his  sails  apace. 

51  We  note  the  pathos  of  the  touch  which  contrasts  the  "life  serene  "of 
earth  with  the  foulness  of  the  rain  and  mire. 

61  Dante's  theory  of  the  knowledge  of  the  lost  is  (as  stated  in  C.  x.  ioo-i<3S) 
that  they  see  the  events  that  are  to  come,  but  are  ignorant  of  what  is  passing 
on  earth  in  the  present. 

^  The  prophecy,  purporting  to  be  given  in  a.d.  1300,  was,  of  course, 
written  after  the  event,  probably  some  years  after.  The  events  may  be  read 
in  Dino  Comp.  and  Villani  (viii.  39).  The  "blood"  points  to  a  fight 
between  the  Cerchi  and  Donati  factions  (May  i,  1301).  The  "  wilder  party  " 
were  the  former,  the  Bianchi,  perhaps  as  being  but  recent  settlers  in  Florence, 
their  former  home  being  the  Val  di  Sieve  {Par.  xvi.  65),  who  in  1301 
succeeded  in  banishing  the  leaders  of  the  Neri.  The  tone  in  which  Dante 
speaks  of  both  factions  indicates  the  time  at  which  he  had  begun  to  "  form 
a  party  by  himself"  (Par.  xvii.  69),  perhaps  also  a  vain  hope,  at  the  time 
when  he  wrote  this  Canto,  that  both  would  court  his  assistance.  In  April 
1302  the  Bianchi,  and  among  them  Dante,  were  in  their  turn  banished. 

6"  The  English  words  give  the  meaning  which  Boccaccio  assigns  to 
pitiggia,  lit.  "is  on  the  coast,"  as  used  by  Florentines  of  one  who  says  one 
thing  and  means  another,  without  altogether  losing  the  figurative  character 
of  the  word.  The  person  alluded  to  may  be  either  Charles  of  Valois  or 
Boniface  VIII.,  more  probably  the  latter.  The  Neri  defeated  the  Bianchi 
at  Castel  Piceno  in  1303,  at  Lastra  in  1304. 


HELL  CANTO  VI 

Long  will  it  lift  its  forehead  to  the  skies,  *" 

Keeping  the  other  under  burdens  sore, 
Though  it  wax  wroth  and  utter  angry  cries. 

The  just  are  two:  and  men  heed  these  no  more; 
Envy  and  pride  and  avarice,  these  three 
Are  sparks  that  kindle  fire  in  their  hearts'  core."       ^* 

So  his  sad  tearful  utterance  ended  he; 

And  I  to  him  :  "  More  news  I  fain  would  hear, 
And  bounty  of  more  converse  grant  to  me: 

Tegghiaio,  Farinata,  worthiest  pair, 

Mosca,  Arrigo,  Rusticucci  too,  * 

And  others  who  in  good  deeds  strove  to  share, 

Tell  me  where  are  they;  let  them  come  in  view; 
Strong  wish  constrains  me;  let  me  learn,  I  pray. 
If  Heaven  console  them  or  Hell  make  them  rue  ? " 

And  he:  "Among  the  blackest  souls  are  they,  ^ 

Sunk  in  the  pit  by  other  than  my  crime; 
Thou  may'st  behold  them,  if  so  low  thou  stray. 

But  when  thou  art  again  in  life's  sweet  clime, 
I  pray  thee  bring  to  others'  thoughts  my  name: 
I  may  not  speak  nor  answer  longer  time."  *• 

W  Of  the  two,  Dante  himself  was  probably  one.  Guido  Cavalcanti  (see 
C.  X.  63)  or  Dino  Compagni  may  have  been  the  other.  Villani,  however 
(x.  89),  names  two  citizens,  Barduccio  and  Giov.  Vespignano,  who  died  in 
1331,  as  having  been  eminently  "just  and  good,"  and  the  words  may  there- 
fore possibly  refer  to  them. 

1*  "Envy,  pride,  and  avarice"  are  named  {Vill.  viii.  68)  as  being  the 
special  sins  that  had  involved  Florence  in  disasters.  It  has  been  inferred 
that  the  three  sins  are  the  same  as  those  symbolised  by  the  three  beasts  of 
C.  i.,  and  therefore  that  the  leopard  stands  for  envy,  not  lust,  but  the 
inference  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  conclusive. 

"^  Tegghiaio  is  named  with  Rusticucci  in  C.  xvi.  41-44,  as  among  the 
sinful  companions  of  Brunetto,  though  of  honourable  fame  on  earth.  For 
Farinata  see  C.  x.  32  ;  for  Mosca,  C.  xxviii.  106.  Arrigo,  not  named  else- 
where in  the  poem,  is  identified  with  Oderigo  Fifanti,  who,  with  Mosca, 
took  part  in  the  murder  of  Buonodelmonte  {ViU.  v.  38). 

86  The  "other  sin,"  of  which  men  thought  lightly,  but  which  Dante  had 
learnt  to  loathe  as  hateful,  is  indicated  in  C.  xvi.  That  form  of  sensual  evil 
was  "  blacker  "  than  the  gluttony  of  Ciacco. 

89  The  desire  for  fame  still  survives,  in  Dante's  teaching(with  some  special 
exceptions)  C.  xxxii.  94,  even  in  the  lost.     Better,  they  think  (perhaps  he 
56 


HELL  CANTO  VI 

Then  his  fixed  steadfast  gaze  ascant  became  : 
Awhile  he  glanced  at  me,  then  bowed  his  head, 
Then    fell,    and   with    those    blind    ones    bore    his 
shame. 

"  No  more  he  rises,"  then  my  Teacher  said, 

"This  side  the  angelic  trumpet's  awful  sound,  * 

When  He  shall  come,  the  Potentate  so  dread. 

And  each,  his  own  sad  sepulchre  refound. 
Shall  take  again  the  flesh  and  form  of  man. 
And  hear  what  shall  eternally  resound." 

So  passed  we  through  that  mixture  foul  and  wan  '"^^ 

Of  shadows  and  of  rain-storm,  pacing  slow. 
And  on  the  life  to  come  our  converse  ran. 

Wherefore  I  said,  "  O  Master,  will  this  woe. 
After  the  last  great  sentence,  increase  find. 
Or  lessen,  or  burn  on,  nor  changing  know? "  ^*® 

And  he  to  me  :  "Thy  science  call  to  mind. 

Which  wills  that  as  each  thing  perfection  gains. 
Or  bliss  or  bale  it  feels  in  fuller  kind; 

Albeit  this  race,  condemned  to  bitter  pains. 

The  true  perfection  never  more  may  reach,  ""^ 

There  more  than  here  completeness  it  attains." 

also  had  once  thought),  to  be  named  as  ev  J  than  not  named  at  all.  Comp.  C. 
xiii.  77,  XV.  iig,  xvi.  85,  et  al. 

93  The  "  blind  ones  "  are  those  who  are  unable  even  to  lift  their  heads 
above  the  mire,  as  Ciacco  had  done. 

**  "  Potentate."  The  Italian  Podesta  recalls  the  thought  of  the  supreme 
authority  often  assigned  in  the  Italian  lepublics  of  the  13th  century  to  some 
foreign  ruler  who  was  called  in  to  repress  the  factions  of  the  city  which 
invited  them.  Here,  as  elsewhere  (C.  x.  10  ;  P-urg.  i.  75),  Virgil's  knowledge 
has  been  enlarged  behind  the  veil,  and  he  knows  the  doctrines  of  the 
Resurrection  of  the  Body  and  the  Last  Judgment. 

103  The  question  shows  how  the  mind  of  Dante,  like  that  of  Aquinas, 
brooded  over  the  problems  of  eschatology.  The  thought  of  a  mitigation  of 
penalties  instinctively  suggested  itself,  but  was  repressed  by  the  philosophy 
on  which  his  theology  was  based.  His  "  science  "  taught  him  that  the  more 
complete  the  nature,  the  greater  must  be  its  capacity  for  joy  (^Par.  xiv.  43-45) 
or  suffering,  and  therefore,  when  the  soul  was  re-united  to  the  body,  the  lost 
would  be  more  tormented,  and  the  joys  of  the  blessed  would  be  greater.  So 
Augustine  had  taught.  Civ.  D.  xxi.  10,  and  so  Aquinas  {Sutnm.  P.  iii. ; 
Supp.  Qu.  93).  Here  again  was  another  bar  to  the  hope  of  any  respite  or 
alleviation. 

57 


HELL  CANTO  VII 

So  wound  we  round  that  pathway,  and  our  speech 
We  carried  further  than  I  now  may  tell; 
And  then  we  came  where  steps  led  down  the  breach. 

And  Plutus  found,  the  deadliest  foe  in  Hell.  '^* 


CANTO  VII 

Plutus — The  Fourth  Circle — Sim  of  Avarice  and  Profusion — 
Fortune  and  her  Wheel — The  Fifth  Circlt — Tie  Murmur ers 

•"  Tape  Satan,  J/eppe,  pap'  Satan  !  " 

So  Plutus  spake  with  accents  rough  and  hoarse, 
And  then  that  gentle  Sage,  who  all  could  scan, 

Said  for  my  help,  "  Let  not  thy  fear  of  worse 

Now  do  thee  harm  ;  whate'er  may  be  his  power,      ^ 
It  may  not  down  the  rock's  face  bar  thy  course." 

Then  turning  to  those  swollen  lips  and  sour. 
He  said,  "  Thou  wolf  accursed,  silence  keep  ; 
Thyself,  within,  with  that  thy  rage  devour. 

115  Plutus,  the  money-god,  as  the  special  warden  of  those  in  the  fourth 
circle,  the  avaricious  and  the  prodigal,  to  whom  money  had  been  the  occasion 
of  sins  at  opposite  extremes. 

1  The  wide  variety  of  interpretations  shows  that  these  mysterious  words 
have  been  the  crux  of  commentators. 

(i)  Pape^GrecV  and  Latin  interjection  f>a/>ce ;  ale/>/e  =  ileh.  aleph,  in 
sense  of  "  chief."  Hence  the  whole  =  "  Ho,  Satan,  Ho,  Satan,  my  Lord  ;"  a 
note  of  warning  against  the  intruders. 

(2)  Assuming  the  words  to  be  Hebrew — "  Vomit,  O  mouth  of  Satan,  vomit, 
O  mouth  of  Satan,  flames  of  fire  "  (Schier). 

(3)  Assummg  them  to  be  Greek — "  Ho,  Satan,  Ho,  Satan,  unconquered 
one  "  (Olivieri). 

(4)  Assuming  them  to  be  French — ^' Pas  paix,  Satan;  pas  paix,  Satan, 
a  tepee"  (Scart). 

The  last  falls  in  in  part  with  Benvenuto  Cellini's  strange  story  {Li/e,  c. 
xxii.)  that  he  heard  the  words  '^  Paix,  paix,  Satan;  allez  paix"  spoken  by 
the  potter  of  a  court  of  justice  at  Paris  to  the  crowd  whom  he  was  en- 
deavouring to  keep  out,  and  that  they  reminded  him  of  Dante.  Rossetti's 
scheme  led  him  to  see  in  the  words  a  hint  to  the  initiated  that  the  Pope  was 
Satan. 

7  As  in  the  case  of  Mino":,  the  grotesque  element  prevailsover  the  received 
classical  type  of  the  god  of  riches. 


HELL  CANTO  VII 

Not  without  cause  our  journey  to  the  deep  ;  "^ 

So  is  it  willed  where  Michael  once  on  high 
Made  vengeance  on  the  o'erproud  rebels  sweep." 

As  the  full  sails  before  the  wind  that  fly. 
Fall  all  entangled  when  it  snaps  the  mast. 
So  on  the  earth  the  fallen  fiend  did  lie  :  " 

Thus  to  the  fourth  great  pit  we  downward  passed, 
Advancing  further  on  the  dolorous  shore. 
Which  all  the  evil  of  the  world  holds  fast. 

Ah  !   God's  great  justice,  heaping  evermore 

New  toils  and  torments  that  I  then  did  see  !  " 

Why  doth  our  guilt  of  sorrow  work  such  store  r 

As  by  Charybdis  rolls  the  vexed  sea. 

And  breaking,  this  on  that,  the  billows  fall. 
So  must  that  folk  in  strange  dance  ever  be. 

Then  I  beheld  a  crowd  more  dense  than  all,  " 

And  on  this  side  and  that,  with  howling  cries. 
Each  rolling  with  his  chest  a  ponderous  ball. 

They  clashed  together  ;  then  as  in  a  trice 

Each  one  turned  round  and  back  his  way  did  find, 
Crying,  "Why  grasp  ye?"  "Why  let  slip  your 

prize?"  ^ 

So  through  the  circle  sad  their  way  they  wind 
On  either  hand  to  point  just  opposite. 
And  ever  shout  that  verse  of  basest  kind. 

12  Comp.  Rev.  xii.  7-9.  I  take  the  strupo  of  the  original,  with  Monti,  as 
—  truppa.  Most  commentators  connect  it  with  stufiro,  and  translate 
"adultery"  or  "adulterer,"  the  seduction  of  the  angels  by  Satan  bemg 
thought  of  as  a  spiritual  adultery. 

13  The  similitude  implies  travel  by  sea  as  well  as  land.  Had  Dante,  as  in 
1.  22,  seen  Charybdis,  or  did  he  take  it  as  a  stock  image  ? 

25-30  The  meaning  of  the  strange  spectacle  is  explained  in  40-45.  Dante 
had  learnt  in  his  Ethics  (Arist.  Etk.  Nic.  ii.  6,  iv.  i)  that  virtue  lies  in  the 
mean  between  opposite  extremes  ;  in  the  case  of  money,  between  those  of 
avarice  and  prodigality.  And  here,  as  in  the  proverb,  the  "  extremes  meet." 
The  whole  canto  may  be  read  as  a  special  protest  against  the  plutocracy  of 
Florence. 

28  So  in  Purg.  xx.  11,  the  "ancient  wolf,"  sc.  avarice,  is  described  as 
having  more  victims  than  "all  the  other  beasts"  that  are  symbols  of  vice^. 
Comp.  C.  i.  51. 

59 


HELL  CANTO  VII 

Then    each    one  wheeled,   when  that   point  came  in 
sight, 
Through  his  half-circle,  still  that  game  to  play.       ^ 
And  I,  whose  heart  was  pierced  with  their  ill  plight. 

Said,  "  O  my  Master,  tell  me  now,  I  pray. 

What  tribe  are  these,  and  were  they  clerks,  that  crew 
Of  tonsured  ones  who  on  our  left  hand  stay  ?  " 

Then  he  to  me  :  "All  these  their  mental  view  *" 

Had  so  distorted  in  their  primal  life 
That  nothing  spent  they  then  in  measure  due. 

Those  yelping  cries  with  meaning  clear  are  rife. 
When  they  the  circle's  furthest  limits  reach. 
Where  faults  opposed  part  them  in  ceaseless  strife.  *^ 

Clerks  were  all  these,  with  crown  left  bare  on  each  ; 
Yea,  popes  and  cardinals  thou  here  may'st  see, 
Whom  avarice  did  its  utmost  mischief  teach." 

And  I  :  "  O  Master,  in  such  company 

Needs  must  be  some  that  I  should  recognise,  ^ 

Who  tainted  were  with  this  foul  malady." 

And  he  to  me  :   "  Vain  thought  thou  dost  surmise  ; 
The  undiscerning  life  which  won  them  scorn 
Now  makes  them  dim  to  keenest  searching  eyes. 

For  ever  to  these  buttings  shall  they  turn,  ^ 

These  from  their  tombs  again  their  forms  shall  rear 
With  fast-closed  fist,  and  those  with  tresses  shorn. 

Ill  giving  and  ill  keeping  of  that  fair 

Bright  world  have  robbed  them,  and  at  this  game  set  ; 
For  what  it  is  I  use  no  phrases  rare.  "^ 

3*  The  avaricious,  as  being  the  worst  of  the  two,  are  represented  as  on  the 
left. 

46  The  avarice  of  the  clergy  was  with  Dante,  as  with  S.  Francis  of  Assisi 
(Par.  xi.  124-129),  with  Chaucer,  Wyciif,  and  other  reformers,  the  great 
cause  of  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world,  and  popes  and 
cardinals,  with  their  proverbial  simony  and  nepotism,  were  the  most 
conspicuous  examples  of  it. 

53  As  with  the  neutrals  of  C.  iii.  49,  so  with  those  »  ho  yield  in  either  form 
to  Mammon-worship,  fame  and  name  are  lost  in  the  baseness  of  their  lives. 
The  "undiscerning,"  unknowing  life  leaves  them  unknown  and  undiscerned. 

*^  The  poet's  apologia  for  the  use  of  the  colloquial  "game"  (Ital.  zuffd). 
60 


HELL  CANTO  VII 

Now  canst  thou,  O  my  son,  full  vision  get 

Of  that  brief  farce  we  know  as  Fortune's  boon, 
For  which  mankind  in  scuffle  fierce  are  met. 

Not  all  the  gold  that  lies  beneath  the  moon, 

Or  ever  lay,  of  all  these  souls  in  pain  ® 

Could  give  a  moment's  rest  to  even  one." 

Then  said  1  :  "  Master,  tell  me  yet  again  ; 

Who  is  this  Fortune  of  whom  thou  dost  speak. 
Who  the  world's  wealth  doth  in  her  clutch  retain  ?" 

And  he  to  me  :  "  O  creatures  frail  and  weak,  ™ 

What  blindness  this  that  leads  you  to  offend ! 
With  open  mouth  do  thou  my  doctrine  seek  : 

He  whose  high  wisdom  doth  all  else  transcend 
Made  all  the  heavens  and  gave  to  each  its  guide, 
So  that  each  part  to  each  its  light  might  send,  '* 

Distributing  its  radiance  far  and  wide  ; 

So  likewise  for  the  splendours  of  the  world 
He  did  one  ministress  and  queen  provide, 

By  whom  vain  wealth  in  chance  and  change  is  whirled 
From  race  to  race,  from  this  to  that  entail,  ^ 

Beyond  the  power  of  human  counsels  hurled  ; 

Wherefore  this  people  reigns  and  that  doth  fail. 
After  her  judgment  who  in  secret  still. 
Like  snake  in  grass,  makes  her  intent  prevail. 

Your  wisdom  cannot  stand  against  her  will  ;  ^ 

With  forethought,  counsel,  might,  she  orders  all 
Her  realm,  as  other  gods  the  realms  they  fill. 

'?"  Men  see  in  the  unequal  distribution  of  the  world's  goods  the  play  of  a 
tlind  chance,  and  Dante  had  at  one  time  felt  his  faith  shaken  by  it  (Conv. 
iv.  ii).  He  is  now  taught  that  even  there  also  may  be  traced  the  workings 
of  a  righteous  govt-rnment  ;  that  Fortune  is  but  the  minister  of  the  provi- 
dence of  God.  He  orders  through  His  angels  the  varying  glories  of  the 
stars.  He,  through  her,  distributes  power  and  riches  according  to  His  will. 
Men  may  curse  or  murmur,  but  she  cares  not  for  them.  All  things,  even 
here,  work  ultimately  for  good,  and  "all  her  ways  are  blest."  In  1.  96  we 
have  the  idea,  often  reproduced  in  later  art,  of  Fortune  and  her  wheel. 
Dante  may  have  seen  it  in  a  MS.  of  Boethius  (Lecroix,  p   49). 

^  An  echo  of  the  iatet  unguis  in  herba  of  Virgil,  Eel.  iii.  93. 

87  The  "other  gods"  are  the  angels  or  intelligences,  to  each  of  which  is 
assigned  his  sphere  of  action  in  the  material  or  moral  world.     Comp.  Cam. 
xii.  on  the  movers  of  the  third  heaven. 
61 


HELL  CANTO  VII 

Her  wheel  revolves  as  ceaseless  changes  call  ; 
Necessity  constrains  her  to  be  swift. 
So  oft  comes  one  to  whom  strange  changes  fall.       ^ 

She,  she  it  is  on  whom  men's  curses  drift, 

Pilloried  in  shame  by  those  who  owe  her  praise, 
And  yet  their  voice  in  wrongful  blame  uplift. 

She  hears  it  not,  but  ever  blessed  stays  ; 

Joyous,  with  all  that  primal  company,  ^•' 

She  turns  her  wheel  and  blest  are  all  her  ways," 

Now  pass  we  down  to  greater  misery  ; 
Already  sinks  each  star  which  then  arose 
When  I  set  out  ;  to  halt  we  are  not  free. 

We  crossed  the  circle  to  the  shore  where  flows  ^^ 

A  stream  that  bubbling  pours  its  boiling  flood 
Adown  a  gully  opening  as  it  goes. 

The  water  was  than  perse  more  sombre-hued. 
And  we,  with  escort  of  that  stream  dark-grey. 
By  path  of  fashion  strange  our  way  pursued.  ^"^ 

There,  Styx  its  name,  a  marsh  before  us  lay, 
By  that  sad  river  made,  as  it  doth  gain 
The  shore  in  dreary  dimness  wrapt  alway. 

And  I,  who  stood,  to  gaze  around  me  fain. 

Saw  people  mire-besprent  in  that  foul  pit,  "° 

All  naked  and  with  looks  of  angry  pain. 

These  smote  each  other  ;  not  with  hands  they  hit 
Alone,  but  with  their  heads  and  breasts  and  feet. 
Gnawing  each  other's  bodies  bit  by  bit. 

100  The  pilgrims  pass  to  the  fifth  circle  and  the  Stygian  river.  For 
"  perse,"  see  note  on  C.  v.  89.  The  description  follows  the  trisiis  unda, 
the  palus  inamabilis  of  Ain.  vi.  438.  The  region  now  entered  is  that  of  the 
murmurers,  guilty  of  the  sin,  an  offshoot,  in  its  suUenness,  of  that  of  wrath 
(1.  116),  which  in  the  moral  theology  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  known  as 
accidia  (see  Chaucer's  Persone's  Tale),  the  word  being  translated  from  the 
Greek  aKriSeCa.  They  too  come  under  the  law  of  retribution.  They  had 
spent  their  lives  in  sullen  sighs,  regardless  of  the  elements  of  gladness  which 
might  be  found  on  all  sides.  Now  they  sigh  for  evermore  and  with  too  good 
cause.  The  poet's  condemnation  of  the  temper  of  discontent  (see  1.  91-93) 
is  all  the  more  noteworthy  as  coming  from  one  who,  in  exile  and  poverty, 
had  more  cause  for  sighing  than  most  men.  But  his  mind  was  open,  as  the 
whole  poem  shows,  to  the  sweet  influences  of  Nature.  Had  he  not  the  sun 
6z 


HELL  CANTO  VIII 

Said  my  good  Master,  "  Son,  the  souls  now  meet        "^ 
Thine  eyes,  of  those  whom  anger  hath  o'erthrown  ; 
And  I  would  have  thee  this  as  certain  treat, 

That  'neath  the  pool  are  those  that  sigh  and  groan. 
And  make  the  water  bubble,  as  we  see. 
Where'er  the  surface  to  thy  glance  is  shown.  '^ 

Fixed  in  the  mire  they  say,  '  Full  sad  were  we. 
Where  the  sun  gladdens  all  the  pleasant  clime, 
Bearing  within  dull  mists  of  melancholy  ; 

Now  are  we  sadder  in  this  black  foul  slime.' 

This  hymn  those  spirits  gurgle  in  their  throat,         ^^'' 
For  words  full  formed  are  wanting  in  their  rhyme." 

So  wound  we  where  those  filthy  waters  float, 
A  great  arc  'twixt  the  dry  bank  and  the  wet, 
With  our  eyes  turned  those  mire-gorged  souls  to  note  : 

At  a  tower's  foot  at  last  our  steps  were  set.  ^ 


CANTO  VIII 

Phlegyas — The  City  of  Dis  and  its  Inhabhanti — Filippo 
jirgenti  —  The  Closed  Gates 

I  SAY,  my  tale  continuing,  that  long  while 

Ere  we  had  reached  the  foot  of  that  high  tower. 
Our  eyes  towards  the  summit  of  the  pile 

and  stars,  and  could  he  not  find  peace  in  them?    {Ep.  in  Frat.  O.  M.  iii. 
500.)    Comp.  Church  (p.  152)  for  Dante's  love  of  Hght. 

1  Boccaccio's  explanation  of  "continuing"  is  worth  noting.  The  first 
seven  cantos,  as  he  tells  the  tale,  had  been  written,  in  Latin  or  Italian,  at 
Florence  and  left  there.  They  were  afterwards  brought  to  Dante,  and  then 
he  resumed  his  work  with  this  word.  The  story  is  not  worth  much,  and  it 
is  clear  that  passages  like  C.  i.  101-105,  vi.  64-68,  must  have  been  written 
after  his  exile. 

2  The  scenery,  possibly  drawn  from  some  actual  Italian  city  as  ap- 
proached by  night,  is  at  any  rate  strikingly  characteristic  of  mediaeval  land- 
scape. The  walled  city,  half  surrounded  by  a  slow  river  and  plashy  marsh, 
the  two  towers  on  either  side  of  which  defend  it  from  attack,  the  ferry-boat 
which  plies  between  the  two  in  the  absence  of  a  bridge,  the  fire-signals  that 
pass  from  one  to  the  other  at  the  approach  of  strangers,  these  are  features 
which  might  have  been  found  in  Mantua  or  many  cities  in  Northern  Italy 
which  Dante  had  visited. 

63 


HELL  CANTO  VIII 

Were  drawn  by  flamelets  twain  that  hovered  o'er, 
While  from  afar  another  made  reply, —  * 

So  far,  that  scarce  the  eye  to  see  had  power; 

And  to  the  sea  of  wisdom  then  turned  I, 

And  said,  "  What  meaneth  this  ?  and  yonder  fire, 
What  answers  it  ?  and  who  such  converse  ply  ? " 

And  he  to  me  :  "Across  these  waves  of  mire  '" 

What  there  they  wait  for  may  be  clearly  seen. 
If  the  pit's  reek  hide  not  thine  eyes'  desire." 

Never  did  bowstring  wing  an  arrow  keen 
That  took  its  way  so  swift  athwart  the  air, 
As  then  I  saw  a  little  boat  between  '^ 

The  waters  glide  towards  us  then  and  there, 
Under  one  boatman's  guidance,  and  no  more, 
Who  cried,  "  Thou  felon  soul,  art  thou  come  here  ?" 

"Ah!   Phlegyas!    Phlegyas!   vainly  dost  thou  roar," 
Then  spake  my  Master  :  "  at  this  present  turn  ^ 

Thine  are  we  only  till  the  pool's  passed  o'er." 

And  e'en  as  one  who  some  great  fraud  doth  learn 
Done  to  him,  sullenly  the  wrong  doth  note, 
So  Phlegyas'  wrath  within  his  breast  did  burn 

My  Leader  first  embarked  in  that  small  boat,  ^ 

Then  made  me  also  come  and  with  him  stand. 
Nor,  till  I  came,  as  laden  did  it  float. 

Soon  as  my  Guide  and  I  the  bark  had  manned, 
That  ancient  prow  starts,  cutting  deeper  wake 
Than  is  its  wont  with  other  travelling  band.  ^ 

While  we  the  stillness  of  that  dead  stream  brake, 
Before  me  rose  one  foul  with  miry  clay. 
And  said,  "  Who'rt  thou  who  ere  the  time  dost  take 

19  Phlegyas,  the  father  of  Ixion,  another  of  the  persona  of  the  /En.  (vi 
6i8),  where  he  appears  as  bearing  the  doom  of  many  sins,  specially  of 
having  burnt  the  temple  of  Delphi.  He  too,  like  Minos  and  Charon,  is 
demonised  in  the  new  mythology,  and,  partly  from  his  name,  as  =  the  fiery 
one,  becomes  the  guardian  fiend  of  the  circle  of  the  wrathful  ones. 

32  Of  Filippo  Argenli,  with  whom  the  ob/ect  of  the  poet's  scorn  is  identi- 
fied in  1.  6i,  we  learn  from  Boccaccio  ihat  he  was  a  rich  cavalier  who  used 
to  shoe  his  horses  with  silver,  and  thence  derived  the  name,  which  stuck  to 
64 


HELL  CANTO  VIII 

Thy  way  ?  "  And  I  :  "I  come,  but  do  not  stay. 

But  who  art  thou  that  art  so  filthy  grown  ?  "  ^ 

And  he  :  "  Thou  see'st  I'm  one  who  weeps  alway." 
And  I  to  him  :  "  With  tears  and  many  a  groan, 

Thou  cursed  spirit,  may'st  thou  still  abide ; 

Foul  as  thou  art,  thy  face  to  me  is  known." 
Then  both  his  hands  he  laid  on  our  boat's  side,  *° 

Whereat  my  Master  wise  thrust  him  away. 

And  said,  "  Off,  ofF,  where  other  hounds  do  hide !  " 
Then  he  his  arms  around  my  neck  did  lay, 

My  face  he  kissed  and  said,  "  Indignant  soul  ! 

Blest  is  the  womb  that  brought  thee  to  the  day !      *^ 
Proud  wight  was  he  on  earth  beyond  control; 

Good  act  is  none  his  fair  fame  to  attest; 

So  through  his  ghost  wrath's  fiery  tempests  roll. 
How  many,  there  as  mighty  kings  addressed. 

Shall  here  as  swine  be  wallowing  in  the  mire,  "* 

Leaving  a  name  on  which  dread  shame  shall  rest!  " 
And  I  :  "  O  Master,  great  is  my  desire 

To  see  him  soused  in  this  foul  turbid  sea. 

Before  our  footsteps  from  the  lake  retire." 
And  he  to  me :  "  Ere  thou  the  shore  can'st  see,  *^ 

Thy  eager  craving  shall  be  satisfied ; 

'Tis  meet  such  wish  should  be  fulfilled  for  thee." 
Soon  after  this  such  havoc  I  descried 

Made  of  him  by  that  mire-besmeared  crew. 

That  still  I  praise  God,  still  my  thanks  abide.  ^ 

him  instead  of  his  patronymic,  Cavacciuoli-Adimari,  and  that  he  was  con- 
spicuous for  the  violence  of  his  temper.  He  belonged  to  the  party  of  the 
Neri,  and  is  said  to  have  had  a  brother  who  took  possession  of  Dante's 
property  when  it  was  confiscated.    (Dec.  ix.  8.) 

^  Noticeable  as  the  one  solitary  instance  in  Dante's  writings  in  which  he 
makes  any  allusion  to  his  parents.  It  is  reasonable  to  infer  from  it  that  he 
looked  to  his  mother's  influence  on  his  early  years  as  having  taught  him 
"the  hate  of  hate,  the  scorn  of  scorn,"  which  is  part  of  the  true  poet's 
dower.  He  could  rejoice  in  seeing  that  insufferable  pride  brought  low,  the 
man  who  had  scorned  humanity  made  the  laughing-stock  of  the  demons  (the 
exultation  has  its  parallels  in  Tertullian  and  Milton),  all  the  more  so  as  he 
saw  in  him  the  type  of  "  mighty  kings"  and  others  who  despised  their  kind. 
65  « 


HELL  CANTO  VIII 

"Have  at  Filipp'  Argenti  !"  was  their  new 

Wild  cry,  and  then  the  spectre  Florentine  [through. 

Turned  in   wild   wrath   and  gnawed  his  own   flesh 
And  there  we  left  him  ;  not  another  line 

I  write  of  him  ;  but  groans  fell  on  mine  ears,  ^ 

Wherefore  before  me  straight  I  fixed  mine  eyne. 
And  my  good  Master  said,  "  My  son,  now  nears 

The  city  which  by  name  of  Dis  is  known. 

Where  a  great  throng  of  townsmen  stern  appears." 
And  I  :  "  O  Master,  even  now  are  shown  '" 

Its  minarets,  far  off  in  yonder  dale; 

Vermeil,  as  if  from  out  a  furnace  thrown. 
They  rise."     And  he  to  me  :  "The  fire  of  bale 

Within,  eternal,  casts  that  lurid  glow, 

As  thou  mayst  see,  in  this  infernal  vale."  ^■' 

Then  we  arrived  within  the  fosses  low 

That  compass  round  that  land  disconsolate ; 

The  walls  to  me  as  iron  seemed  to  show. 
Not  without  making  first  a  circuit  great. 

We  reached  a  point  at  which  our  boatman  cried      ^ 

With  loud  harsh  voice,  "Out  with  you  !  see  the  gate  !" 
More  than  a  thousand  at  those  gates  I  spied. 

Rained  down  from  Heaven,  who,  hot  with  anger,  said, 

"  Who  then  is  this,  who,  though  he  hath  not  died. 
Now  passes  through  the  kingdom  of  the  dead  ?"  ^ 

And  then  my  prudent  Master  made  a  sign 

That  he  to  speak  in  secret  purposed. 
Then  they  their  great  wrath  somewhat  did  confine, 

And  said,  "  Come  thou  alone,  and  let  him  go 

Who  hath  so  rashly  crossed  this  kingdom's  line,        ®° 

88  Dis  in  yEn.  vi.  269,  397,  appears  as  the  synonym  of  Pluto.  Here,  as  in 
the  city  of  the  Lord  of  Hell,  we  meet,  not  as  in  the  earlier  circles  with  the 
souls  of  the  lost  only,  but  with  the  demons  who  are  its  "townsmen  stern." 

7"  The  "  minarets"  (»««c/ii/7?  =  mosques)  speak  of  a  knowledge  of  Eastern 
cities  which  may  have  been  learnt  from  Marco  Polo,  who  returned  to  Venice 
in  1295,  or  other  travellers.  The  word  was  probably  chosen  on  account  of 
its  association  with  heathen  barbarism. 

88  The  wrath  of  the  demons  springs  from  their  seeing  in  Dante  one  over 
66 


HELL  CANTO  viii 

Alone  retracing  his  mad  path  below; 

Let  him  his  power  test ;  here  shalt  thou  remain. 
Who  hast  his  guide  been  through  this  land  of  woe." 

Think,  Reader,  how  my  soul  was  filled  with  pain 
On  hearing  of  those  cursed  words  the  sound  ;  ^^ 

For  ne'er  I  thought  our  earth  to  see  again, 

"  O  my  dear  Teacher,  more  than  seven  times  found 
My  safety  and  defence,  who  me  hast  freed 
From  peril  great  that  compassed  me  around, 

O  leave  me  not,"  I  said,  "  in  such  sore  need;  '"*' 

If  going  farther  be  to  us  denied, 
Let  us  go  back  together  with  all  speed." 

Then  that  dear  Lord,  who  thus  far  had  been  guide, 
Said,  "  Fear  thou  not  ;  our  journey  none  can  stay, 
By  such  a  high  One  is  it  ratified;  *°"' 

But  wait  thou  here  for  me,  and  thy  dismay 

Comfort,    and    feed    thy   soul    with    hope's    bright 

smile  ; 
I  will  not  leave  thee  in  this  dark  world's  way." 

So  he  departs  and  leaves  me  there  awhile. 

My  gentlest  Father  ;  I  in  doubt  remain,  ''° 

For  '  Yes '  and  '  No  '  my  wildered  brain  beguile. 

What  he  spake  to  them  I  could  not  hear  plain. 
But  with  them  he  but  little  while  did  rest. 
Ere  all  went  helter-skelter  back  again. 

They  shut  the  gates  against  my  Master's  breast,  ^'^ 

Those  enemies  of  ours,  while  he  outside 
Turned  to  me,  and  with  slow  steps  onward  pressed. 

whom  they  have  no  power,  and  whose  journey  through  Hell  will  be  for  his 
own  salvation,  and,  through  his  teaching,  for  that  of  others. 

97  Commentators  count  up  the  seven  instances  of  deliverance  from  the 
wolf,  Charon,  and  others,  but  the  number  is  probably  used  indefinitely,  as 
in  Prov.  xxiv.  i6,  Eccles.  xi.  2. 

105  Xhe  faith  of  Virgil  represents,  of  course,  here,  as  in  C.  iii.  95,  that  of 
the  poet  himself.  He  has  learnt  from  the  higher  wisdom  which  reproves  his 
doubt  to  say,  "If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?"  Not  less  truly 
does  Virgil's  half-doubting  fear,  or  wrath  that  looks  like  fear,  represent  the 
conflicting  feelings  in  Dante's  soul. 

67 


HELL  CAN- 

His  eyes  he  had  cast  down,  his  forehead  wide 
Shorn  of  all  boldness,  and  with  sighs  he  said, 
"  Who  hath  to  me  these  homes  of  woe  denied? ' 

And  then  to  me :  "  Nay,  be  not  thou  afraid 
Because  my  wrath  is  hot;  I'll  win  the  day, 
Whatever  plans  are  for  resistance  made. 

Not  new  this  haughty  malice  they  display; 
They  tried  it  once  at  far  less  secret  door. 
Which  ever  since  without  its  bolts  doth  stay  : 

Thou  saw'st  that  writing  dread  the  portals  o'er : 
Already  thence  comes  one  adown  the  slope 
Without  an  escort,  by  each  circle's  shore. 

Through  whom  this  land  a  way  for  us  shall  ope." 


CANTO  IX 

The  Angel-Heifer — The  Erimyes — Medusa — The  Sixth 
Circle — The  Heresiarchs 

That  hue  which  coward  fear  spread  o'er  my  face, 
Seeing  my  Leader  turn  back  to  the  rear. 
Bade  his,  to  him  unwonted,  flee  apace. 

Intent  he  stood,  as  one  who  seeks  to  hear, 

For  the  eye  failed  to  throw  its  glance  afar,  ® 

Through    the    black    air   and   thick   mists  hovering 
near. 

"  Behoves  us  still  to  conquer  in  this  war," 

Spake  he  :   "  if  not  .  .  .  such  help  to  us  was  given.  .  .  . 
Still,  till  it  comes,  how  slow  the  moments  are  ! " 

125  As  in  C.  iv.  53,  we  have  the  legend  of  the  Gospel  of  Nicodemus 
(Part  II.).  Satan  and  Hades  and  their  hosts  resist  the  approach  of  'he 
Crucified  0«e,  but  He  breaks  asunder  the  bars  of  iron  and  the  gates  of  Hell 
give  way  before  Him.  So  in  the  Roman  office  for  Easter  Eve,  "  Hodie 
portas  mortis  et  seras  Sahiator  nosier  disrupit." 

7  The  dramatic  abruptness  of  the  broken  sentences,  in  which  hope  and 
fear  alternate,  reminds  us  of  the  "Qttos  ego"  oi  jUn.  i.  135.  Line  8  alludes, 
of  course,  to  Beatrice. 

68 


HELL  CANTO  IX 

Well  saw  I  soon,  as  he  to  hide  had  striven  ^ 

His  opening  speech  with  what  came  in  the  rear. 
That  first  and  last  on  different  track  were  driven. 

But  none  the  less  in  me  his  speech  wrought  fear, 
For  I  that  broken  phrase  interpreted 
In  sense,  perchance,  than  what  he  meant  more  drear.  ^* 

"  Doth  ever  any  down  this  cavern  tread. 

Coming  from  that  first  grade  of  this  dark  pit. 
Where  all  their  pain  is  but  that  hope  is  fled  ?  " 

This  asked  I,  and  he  spake,  "  So  chances  it 

But  seldom  one  from  out  our  company  ** 

Doth  on  this  path  by  which  I  travel  flit; 

True  is  it,  once  before,  down  hither  I 

Journeyed,  by  that  stern  Erichtho  constrained. 
Wont  souls  to  summon  where  their  corpses  lie. 

Scarce  had  my  soul  from  flesh  its  exit  gained,  ^ 

When  she  forced  me  within  these  walls  to  come, 
To  fetch  a  soul  in  Judas'  pit  detained. 

The  lowest  region  that,  and  darkest  gloom, 

And  furthest  from  the  Heaven  that  all  doth  bind : 
Full  well  I  know  the  road;  for  trust  make  room.     "° 

This  fen,  which  breathes  the  foul  and  noisome  wind. 
The  city  of  great  sorrows  girdeth  round, 
Where  without  wrath  we  may  not  entrance  find." 

More  then  he  said,  not  now  in  memory  found. 

For  by  mine  eyes  my  whole  soul  drawn  had  been     ^ 
To  the  high  tower  with  fiery  summit  crowned, 

22  No  commentator  has  succeeded  in  tracing  the  legend  thus  referred  to. 
It  may  have  found  a  place  among  the  floating  myths  which  gathered  round 
the  name  of  Virgil  as  a  magician,  and  of  which  we  have  a  sample  in 
Boccaccio's  Commentary.  In  Dante's  favourite  Lucan  (vi.  508),  Erichtho 
is  a  Thessalian  sorceress,  who,  at  the  request  of  Sextus  Pompeius,  before 
the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  calls  up  a  spirit  to  fortell  the  issue  of  the  conflict 
between  his  father  and  Csesar.  As  the  circle  of  Judas  contained  also  as  its 
chief  representatives  the  souls  of  Brutus  and  Cassius,  the  thought  suggested 
is  that  Erichtho  was  employed  by  some  one  (Augustus  ?)  to  compel  Virgil  to 
bring  up  one  of  those  two  murderers  of  Csesar  to  foretell  the  future. 

38  The  Erinnyes  are  described  as  in  yEn.  vi.  231,  that  description  coming 
in  its  turn  from  the  older  Greek  myths  as  represented  in  i£scli.  Eumeit. 
46-56. 

69 


HELL  CANTO  IX 

Where  in  a  moment,  standing  up,  were  seen 

Three  Furies,  hell-bred  and  of  blood-stained  hue, 
Who  had  the  limbs  of  women  and  their  mien. 

Green  hydras  as  their  girdle  met  my  view,  **• 

Serpents  and  horned  vipers  served  for  hair. 
And  o'er  their  temples  dread  a  garland  threw ; 

And  he,  who  knew  that  they  the  handmaids  were 
Of  the  great  Queen  of  endless  misery, 
Said  to  me,  "  Lo,  the  fierce  Erinnyes  there!  ^ 

Megaera  on  the  left  hand  meets  thine  eye, 
Alecto  there  stands  wailing  on  the  right, 
Tisiphone  between."     No  more  heard  I. 

Each  tore  her  breast  with  nails  in  sore  despite. 

Smote  with  her  palms,  and  cried  with  suc}\  sharp 
tone,  ^ 

That  I  the  poet  clasped  for  very  fright. 

"Let  but  Medusa  come  ;  we'll  make  him  stone," 
Upon  us  looking  down  they  all  did  cry ; 
"  That  Theseus  went  unpunished  was  ill  done." 

"Turn  thyself  back,  and  keep  fast  closed  thine  eye,    ^ 
For  if  the  Gorgon  come,  and  thou  it  see, 
Thou  ne'er  again  shalt  reach  the  world  on  high." 

So  spake  my  Guide,  and  with  his  own  hands  he 
Turned  me ;  nor  was  he  with  my  hands  content. 
But  with  his  own  he  helped  to  blindfold  me.  ''" 

O  ye  who  own  a  mind  intelligent. 

Admire  the  wisdom  which  is  here  concealed 
Beneath  the  veil  of  rhymes  so  strangely  blent. 

^  Medusa,  the  Gorgon  head  that  turned  whoso  looked  on  it  to  stone. 
That,  the  Furies  think,  will  stop  the  path  of  the  intruders. 

84  The  myth  thus  alluded  to  was  that  Theseus  and  Peirithous  went  into 
Hades  to  bring  Proserpine  to  earth  ;  that  the  latter  was  slain  by  Cerberus, 
the  former  kept  as  a  prisoner  in  the  city  of  Pluto  till  he  was  rescued  by 
Hercules.  The  cry  of  the  Furies  is  one  of  regret  that  they  had  not  made 
their  vengeance  more  complete.  Mai  non  vengiatnnto  must  not  be  taken, 
as  some  translators  and  commentators  have  taken  it,  2&=non  mal.  Dante 
is  rescued  from  the  doom  which  the  Gorgon's  head  would  have  brought  on 
him. 

61  The  words  compel  us  to  see  in  the  seene  just  described  more  tlian  a 
poet's  sportive  use  of  the  machinery  of  mythology,  and  we  have  to  ask  what 
70 


HELL  CANTO  IX 

And  now  upon  the  turbid  waves  there  pealed 

A  crash  and  clang  at  which  I  stood  aghast,  ^ 

That  made  both  shores  to  trembling  movement  yield  ; 

Not  otherwise  it  was  than  tempest  blast, 
Impetuous  rushing  through  opposing  heat, 
That  smites  the  forest,  sweeping  on  so  fast, 

It  rends  the  branches,  beats  them,  bears  off  fleet,  ""* 

And  in  its  pride  moves  on,  while  dust-clouds  dance. 
And  beasts  and  shepherds  drives  to  seek  retreat. 

He  oped  mine  eyes  and  said,  "Now  cast  thy  glance 
Of  vision  on  that  foul  and  ancient  lake. 
There    where    the    murkiest    clouds    of  smoke    ad- 
vance." ^* 

And  as  the  frogs  at  sight  of  hostile  snake 

Are  scattered  through  the  waters  far  and  wide, 
Till,  huddling,  all  the  shore  their  refuge  make. 

More  than  a  thousand  ruined  souls  I  spied 

Thus  fleeing  from  before  the  face  of  one,  *• 

Who  with  dry  feet  had  crossed  the  Stygian  tide. 

the  mystic  meaning  is  which  is  to  be  read  between  the  lines.  It  does  not 
seem  far  to  seek.  In  entering  the  city  of  DIs,  the  special  home  of  the 
infidel  and  heretic,  the  pilgrim  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  mystery  of 
evil  and  its  punishment,  in  its  profoundest  depths.  The  three  Erinnyes, 
types  of  the  remorse  of  conscience  (other  allegorical  and  political  interpreta- 
tions have  been  found  for  them,  as  for  the  three  beasts  of  C.  i.,  which  I  do 
not  care  to  discuss),  strike  terror  into  the  soul ;  he  quails  before  them. 
There  remains  a  more  terrible  experience,  the  despair  and  unbelief  that 
petrify  the  soul  and  make  it  callous.  The  higher  human  wisdom  repre- 
sented by  Virgil  protects  Dante  from  that  danger  by  hindering  him  from 
looking  into  the  perilous  depth  of  doubt.  There  is  a  point  at  which  the 
contemplation  of  evil  becomes  fata!  to  the  soul's  life.  Victory  in  that 
struggle  can  be  obtained  only  by  the  help  of  the  grace  which  comes  from 
above,  and  of  which  the  heavenly  messenger  of  1.  85  is  the  symbol.  We 
may  fairly  see  in  this  instance  an  example  of  the  profounder  meanings 
which  Dante  read  into  the  ancient  myths  of  Greece,  and  apply  his  methods 
elsewhere. 

OT  A  striking  parallel  is  found  in  Tennyson's  Princess,  in  the  passage 
beginning — 

"As  comes  a  pillar  of  electric  cloud." 

TO  The  political  interpreters  see  in  the  wiad  the  symbol  of  the  Emperor 
Henry  VII.,  in  the  shepherds  the  clergy,  and  in  the  wild  beasts  the  laity  of 
Florence  ;  but  qu.  ? 

76  Frogs,  like  falcons,  seem  to  have  been  a  favourite  study  of  Dante's. 
Comp.  C.  xxxii.  32. 

7« 


HELL  CANTO  IX 

He  from  his  face  swept  that  thick  air  and  dun, 
And  often  waved  his  left  hand  as  he  went, 
And  with  that  anguish  seemed  his  strength  half-gone. 

Well  I  perceived  that  he  from  Heaven  was  sent;        ^ 
And  to  my  Master  turned,  and  he  made  sign 
That  I  should  silent  stand  before  him  bent. 

Ah  me  !  how  full  he  seemed  of  scorn  divine! 

He  reached  the  gate,  and  then,  with  wand  in  hand. 
He  oped  it,  nought  withstanding  his  design.  *' 

"  Exiles  from  heaven,  race  for  ever  banned !  " 
So  he  began,  that  dreaded  threshold  o'er, 
"Whence  comes  this  proud  resistance  to  command? 

Why  at  that  Will  thus  kick  ye  more  and  more. 

Whose  end  ne'er  fails  its  measure  to  fulfil,  ®* 

And  oft  hath  added  to  your  torments  sore  ? 

What  boots  it  butting  against  Fate's  strong  will  ? 
Your  Cerberus,  if  you  remember  well. 
For  that  bears  chin  and  throat  denuded  still." 

Then  turned  he  back  on  that  path  foul  and  fell,         '"" 
And  spoke  no  word  to  us,  but  had  the  mien 
Of  one  in  whom  deep  cares  and  carking  dwell, 

All  else  before  him  slighted  and  unseen. 

We  then  towards  that  region  took  our  path. 

After  those  holy  words,  with  soul  serene.  '°* 

We  passed  within,  and  met  no  warring  wrath  ; 
And  I,  who  had  a  strong  desire  to  know 
The  state  that  such  high  fortress  round  it  hath, 

When  I  had  entered,  looked  around,  and  lo  ! 

I  see  on  every  side  a  wide  champaign,  "° 

Filled  with  sore  torments  and  with  bitterest  woe. 

83  The  action  of  the  angel,  like  that  of  the  Centaur  in  C.  xii.  77,  is 
described  ty  one  who  has  seen,  as  in  the  visions  of  God,  what  he  thus 
describes.  Mystically  the  action,  which  reminds  us  of  VEneas  with  his 
fatalis  virga  (Ain.  vi.  409),  represents  the  fact  that  even  the  angels  of 
God's  grace  find  the  conflict  with  evil  no  light  or  easy  task.  The  political 
interpreters  see  in  the  angel  the  symbol  of  the  P^mperor  Henry  VII.,  in  the 
resistance  of  the  demons  that  which  the  citizens  of  Florence  offered  to  that 
Emperor,  in  the  angels  tun>ing  back  the  Emperor's  withdrawal.     I  leave  it 

72 


HELL  CANTO  IX 

As  where  the  Rhone  stagnates  o'er  Arli's  plain. 
Or  as  at  Pola  near  Quarnaro's  shore, 
Italia's  limit,  bordered  by  the  main. 

With  sepulchres  the  earth  is  studded  o'er,  "* 

So  rose  they  there  on  every  side  around, 
Saving  that  here  the  fashion  grieved  me  more  ; 

For  flames  were  scattered  o'er  each  burial  mound, 
Which  set  them  all  in  such  a  fiery  glow. 
No  art  needs  more  in  iron  furnace  found.  ^* 

The  lids  were  hung  right  o'er  the  tombs  below. 
And  out  of  them  there  came  such  wailings  loud, 
They  seemed  of  men  tormented  and  in  woe. 

And  I  :  "  O  Master,  who  then  are  that  crowd 

Who  in  these  tombs  thus  sepulchred  appear,  ^^ 

Whose  sighs  we  hear  as  if  in  deep  grief  bowed  ?  " 

And  he  to  me  :  "Heresiarchs  are  they  here. 

With  followers  of  all  sects ;  more  numerous  race 
Than  thou  would'st  deem,  the  laden  tombstones  bear. 

Here  like  with  like  still  finds  its  burial-place,  '^ 

Some  monuments  more  heated,  others  less." 
And  when  he  to  the  right  had  turned  a  space. 

We  passed  where  high  towers  on  the  tortures  press. 

to  those  who  like  to  accept  such  an  interpretation.  I  do  not.  It  assumes  of 
course  that  C.  ix.  was  not  written  till  after  1312,  when  the  events  occurred. 

112  Both  the  passages  indicate  actual  observation.  Aries  may  have  been 
visited  on  the  way  to  Paris  before  Dante's  exile.  Its  outskirts,  known  as 
the  Alys-champs  (Champs  Elysees)^  and  used  as  a  public  promenade,  form  a 
vast  necropolis,  with  long  rows  of  Roman  tombs  on  each  side  of  an  avenue 
(Joanne,  s.  v.  Aries).  Boccaccio  speaks  of  a  local  tradition  that  there  had 
been  a  great  fight  in  the  neighbourhood  between  the  Christians  and  Saracens. 
Another  more  definite  story  was  that  Charlemagne  had  buried  his  dead 
there  after  a  battle  (Turpin,  Hist.  Charles  the  Great,  i.  52),  while  a  third 
legend  stated  that  the  Christian  dead  were  distinguished  by  miracle  from  the 
unbelievers,  and  were  found  in  their  tombs,  each  with  his  name  carved  on 
that  in  which  he  lay  (Scart.)  Pola,  a  city  of  Istria,  on  the  Gulf  of  Quarnaro, 
in  the  north  of  the  Adriatic,  was  also  memorable  for  the  number  of  tombs, 
upwards  of  700,  in  its  outskirts.  It  was  known  as  the  limit  of  Italy,  and 
contained  an  Amphitheatre,  the  Porta  Anrea,  and  other  Roman  remains. 
Augustus  had  wished  it  to  be  called  Pietas  Julia,  but  the  old  name  kept  its 
ground  (Ramp.  s.  v.  Pola). 

127  The  form  of  punishment  is  again  appropriate.  The  heresiarch's  life  is 
but  a  living  death,  and  therefore  he  is  fitly  entombed.  But  that  death  is  not  the 
cessation  of  conscious  being,  only  of  all  that  makes  life  worthy  to  be  lived. 

73 


HELL  CANTO  X 

The  Epicureans — Farinata  degli  Uberti — Cavalcante  de" 
Ca-Viikanti 

Then  onward  goes,  by  narrow  path  that  wound 
Between  the  city's  wall  and  tortured  race. 
My  Master  first,  and  I  behind  him  found. 

"  O  highest  Might,  who  through  each  godless  space," 
I  then  began,  "  as  thou  wilt,  turnest  me  ;  ^ 

Speak  to  me  ;  grant  my  longings,  of  thy  grace. 

The  race  who  in  these  vaults  sepulchral  be. 
May  they  be  known  ?  already  lifted  high 
Are  all  the  lids,  yet  none  on  guard  I  see." 

And  he  to  me  :  "All  of  them  closed  shall  He  " 

When  from  Jehoshaphat's  dread  vale  they  come, 
Each  with  the  body  left  beneath  the  sky. 

On  this  side  see,  there  lie  within  the  tomb 
All  those  who  Epicurus  take  as  guide. 
Who  make  the  spirit  share  the  body's  doom.  ^ 

But  thy  desire  shall  soon  be  satisfied, 

Both  this  which  thou  to  me  hast  thus  revealed, 
And  that  thy  wish  thou  dost  in  silence  hide." 

And  I  :  "  Good  Master,  I  but  keep  concealed 

From  thee  my  heart,  lest  I  speak  more  than  meet  ;  ^ 
Not  now  alone  hast  thou  my  lips  kept  sealed." 

1  The  scene  which  we  have  to  picture  to  ourselves  is  that  of  a  great 
cemetery  just  within  the  city,  dark  as  night,  and  the  flames  issuing  from  the 
red-hot  sepulchres.  A  midnight  walk  through  the  "  Black  Country"  of  the 
Midlands  would  in  part  reproduce  it. 

ii  Alediaeval  interpretation  fastened  on  Joel  iii.  2,  and  drew  the  inference 
that  tlie  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  (  =  Jehovah  judgeth),  on  the  south  side  of 
Jerusalem,  would  be  the  actual  scene  of  a  localised  last  judgment. 

!■*  There  is  something  singularly  suggestive  in  the  followers  of  Epicurus 
being  placed  among  the  heresiarchs.  Dante  clearly  has  in  his  mind,  not  the 
Athenian  philosopher  (though  in  one  sense,  as  the  founder  of  a  school  that 
wandered  from  the  truth  revealed  to  all  men,  he  might  be  described  by  that 
name),  but  those  who,  being  within  the  pale  of  the  Church,  had  fallen  back 
into  pagan  scepticism  or  unbelief.  The  way  in  which  he  looked  on  the 
Ren.iissance  under  Frederick  II.,  against  whom  the  charge  of  being  "an 
Epicurean"  was  freely  brought  by  his  Papal  opponents  (Kington  i.  371, 
432  ;  ii.  365),  shows  how  he  would  have  looked  on  the  later  Renaissance,  the 
revival,  i.e.,  of  heathenism  in  philosophy  and  art,  under  the  Medici.  The 
negation  of  immortality  is  that  which  seems  to  the  poet  a  more  deadly  hereby 
than  that  of  Arius  or  Sabelliu 

74 


HELL  CANTO  X 

"O  Tuscan,  who  this  city's  fiery  heat 

Dost  traverse  with  thy  speech  of  courteous  tone, 
A  little  while  stay  with  me,  I  entreat. 

Thy  speech  and  action  have  full  plainly  shown  ^^ 

Thou  art  a  native  of  that  noble  land 
To  which  perchance  I  was  too  troublous  known." 

All  on  a  sudden  came,  as  near  at  hand, 

That  voice  from  out  a  tomb,  and  so  I  turned 
In   dread,   that  I   more    near  my   Guide   might     ^ 
stand. 

Then  he  to  me  :  "  Turn  back  :  why  thus  concerned  ? 
'Tis  Farinata  whom  thou  see'st  upraised  ; 
From  his  waist  up  his  form  is  now  discerned." 

Already  had  I  on  him  closely  gazed. 

And  he  with  breast  and  neck  before  me  rose,  ^ 

As  though  in  scorn  Hell  was  by  him  appraised. 

And  then  my  Guide's  hand,  prompt  and  active,  chose 
To  bid  me  to  him  'mid  the  gravestones  come. 
Saying,  "  Let  clear  words  now  thy  wish  disclose." 

25  The  spealcer,  as  1.  32  shows,  is  Farinata  degli  Uberti,  a  Ghibelline  noble, 
who,  in  alliance  with  Arezzo,  Pisa,  and  other  partisans  of  the  Empire, 
defeated  the  Guelphs  of  Florence,  and  among  them  Dante's  kindred,  in  the 
battle  of  Montaperti,  near  the  river  Arbia,  in  1260.  Assuming  that  it  is  right 
for  any  human  judgment  to  anticipate  the  Divine  sentence,  nothing  can  be 
more  striking  than  the  absence  of  partisanship  and  personal  feeling  with 
which  in  this  instance  Dante  awards  the  doom  of  Farinata.  The  poet  of 
Ghibellinism  places  a  Ghibelline  in  the  circle  of  the  heresiarchs.  In  no  other 
way,  it  may  have  seemed  to  him,  could  he  teach  the  living  Ghibellines  with 
whom  he  associated  that  something  more  was  needed  for  their  salvation  than 
hostility  to  the  Pope.  That  hosiilitv  might  be  accompanied,  as  it  had  been 
in  Farinata  and  others,  under  the  influence  of  the  imperial  court  of  Frederick 
II.,  with  a  loss  of  all  that  raises  man's  life  above  the  brutes  ;  with  a  denial, 
not  of  this  or  that  article  of  the  Church's  faith,  but  of  the  fundamental  idea 
of  all  natural  religion.  Boccaccio  describes  Farinata  as  being  both  an 
Epicurean  and,  in  the  more  modern  sense  of  the  word,  an  epicure.  That  he 
was  not  without  some  nobler  qualities  which  yet  were  unable  to  save,  Dante, 
as  the  sequel  shows,  was  not  slow  to  recognise  (comp.  also  C.  vi.  79).  It 
adds  to  the  strange  weird  interest  of  the  scene  that  Lapo,  the  son  of  Farinata, 
was  a  poet,  and  jjrobably  a  friend  of  Dante's  (Sonn.  ii.  ;  V.  E.  i.  13) ;  that 
his  grandson  Bonifazio  wrote  a  poem,  with  the  title  oi  Dittamondo,  a  kind  of 
itinerary  of  the  then  known  world,  based,  in  its  form,  on  the  pattern  of  the 
Commedia  (see  note  on  C.  v.  67),  and  that  his  daughter  was  married  to  Guido 
Cavalcante.  The  fact  that  Margaritone  of  Arezzo  executed  a  crucifix  for 
him  stands  in  almost  ghastly  contrast  with  Dante's  picture  (\^as.  i.  90). 

75 


HELL  CANTO  X 

Soon  as  I  reached  the  foot  of  his  high  tomb,  *" 

He  looked  at  me  awhile  with  scornful  eye, 
And  asked  me,  "  Whom  art  thou  descended  from  ?  " 

And  I,  who  was  all  eager  to  comply, 

Kept  nothing  from  him,  but  the  whole  truth  told ; 
Whereat  he  arched  his  eyebrows  somewhat  high,     ** 

And  said,  "  Fierce  foes  were  they  in  days  of  old 
To  me,  my  fathers  and  my  party  too. 
So  that  twice  o'er  I  drove  them  from  our  fold." 

"  If  they  were  banished,  they  the  way  back  knew," 
I  answered,  "  once  and  twice  from  every  side  :         ^ 
Thine  have  not  learnt  that  art  in  measure  due." 

Then  there  arose  a  spectre  just  descried, 
Uncovered  downward  only  to  the  chin; 
Kneeling,  I  trow,  to  lift  himself  he  tried; 

^2  The  question  is  asked  in  the  very  spirit  of  the  feudal,  the  Ghibelline, 
noble.  To  him  the  Guelphs,  belonging  mostly  to  the  traders  and  the  men  of 
the  professions,  were  objects  of  scorn.  We  can  hardly  doubt  that  Dante 
had  encountered  such  scorn,  and  that  the  iron  had  entered  into  his  soul,  as 
he  represents  it  here.  In  Par.  xvii.  he  tells,  with  a  natural  pride,  the  story 
of  his  own  lineage,  but  the  proud  noble  was  not  likely  to  think  much  of 
Cacciaguida.  Comp.  the  story  of  Giotto's  asking  the  same  question  of  a 
sitter  who  wished  to  be  painted  with  a  coat  of  arms  (l^as.  i.  i2i). 

48  The  words  refer  to  the  two  expulsions  of  the  Guelphs  of  Florence  by  the 
Ghibellines :  (i)  in  1248,  when  they  were  driven  into  exile  by  Frederick  II. 
{_yill.  vi.  j4) ;  (2)  in  1260,  after  Montaperti,  as  above.  Dante's  father  was 
involved  in  the  latter,  but  his  mother,  if  not  his  father  also,  must  have 
returned  to  Florence  before  his  birth  in  1265.  In  both  cases,  as  Dante 
boasts,  the  exile  was  but  short,  the  Guelphs  returning  from  the  first  in  1250, 
after  the  rout  of  the  Ghibellines  at  Figline,  and  from  the  second  in  i?66,  after 
the  death  of  Manfred.  They  in  their  turn,  relying  on  the  support  of  Charles  of 
Anjou,  banished  their  enemies  (Farinata  had  died  in  1264),  and  in  the  partial 
amnesty  of  1267,  the  Uberti  were  specially  exempted.  The  taunt  was  probably 
written  after  Dante  had  taken  part  in  one  or  more  attempts  of  the  Ghibelline 
Bianchi,  during  the  early  years  of  his  exile,  to  force  their  way  back  to 
Florence,  and  not  without  a  touch  of  bitterness  at  their  failure. 

*2  The  mention  of  "  Guido  "  in  1.  63  identifies  the  spectre  with  Cavalcante 
Ca  valcanti,  the  father  of  Guido,  one  of  the  poet's  earliest  and  dearest  associates, 
the  "first  of  his  friends"  (V.  N.  c.  3),  a  poet  like  himself,  noble,  brave, 
thoughtful,  and  refined  (f^iV/.  viii.  41 ;  Dino  Comp.  i.).  The  two  had  been  as 
David  and  Jonathan.  Guido's  father  wonders  at  seeing  Dante  without  him. 
And  now  the  one  speaks  of  the  other  after  his  death  (Guido  died  in  the 
autumn  of  1360  after  the  assumed  date  of  the  vision,  but  before  any  of  it  was 
written)  in  a  tone  of  coldness,  and  places  his  father  in  Hell  as  an  unbeliever. 
What  had  caused  the  breach?  If  it  is  impossible  to  construct  a  complete 
apolo^a,  we  may  at  least  trace  the  workings  of  the  poets  mind.  The  father 
was  a  materialist,  an  "epicurean,"  and  the  son  may  have  seemed  to  have 
76 


HELL  CANTO  X 

Round  about  me  he  looked,  as  if  to  win  ^ 

Assurance  whether  others  were  with  me  ; 

But  when  his  anxious  doubt  all  spent  had  been, 
Then  spake  he  weeping  :  "  If  'tis  thine  to  see 

This  prison  dark,  through  loftiness  of  mind. 

Where  is  my  son  ?  Why  comes  he  not  with  thee  ?  "  ^ 
And  I :  "  Not  of  myself  the  path  I  find  ; 

He  who  waits  yonder  leads  me  on  my  way. 

May  be,  your  Guido  to  his  worth  was  blind." 
Those  words  of  his  and  doom  that  on  him  lay 

Had  of  that  soul  already  told  the  name,  ^ 

Therefore  so  full  did  I  my  answer  say. 
Then  swiftly  rising  up,  he  'gan  exclaim, 

"  '  fFas  '  didst  thou  say  ?  And  lives  he  then  no  more  ? 

Are  his  eyes  closed  against  the  sun's  sweet  flame  ? " 
And  when  he  noticed  that  I  lingered  o'er  ^° 

My  answer,  back  he  fell  as  stupefied. 

And  his  face  hid,  as  it  was  hid  before. 
But  he,  that  other,  lofty  in  his  pride. 

For  whom  I  stayed  there,  did  unchanged  remain  ; 

Neither  his  neck  he  moved,  nor  bent  his  side.  ^^ 

caught  something  of  the  taint.  His  marriage  with  Farinata's  daughter  would 
tend  in  the  same  direction.  When  Virgil  came  to  be  to  Dante  the  guide  to  a 
higher  life,  to  a  truer  theory  of  the  Divine  government,  Guido,  it  may  be, 
would  none  of  him,  and  the  breach  between  the  two  friends  was  therefore 
something  more  than  a  quarrel  on  a  point  of  taste,  Guido  preferring  the 
Provencal  poets  to  the  author  of  the  Aineid.  The  change  has  its  parallel  in 
the  altered  feelings,  let  us  say,  with  which  a  convert  to  or  from  Romanism  or 
Protestantism  looks  on  the  friends  whom  he  has  left.  What  adds  to  the  pain 
with  which  we  read  the  whole  story  is,  that  Dante,  in  the  two  months  in 
which  he  held  office  as  one  of  the  Priori  in  1300,  had  felt  himself  compelled 
to  banish  Guido  and  others,  both  Neri  and  Bianchi,  as  disturbers  of  the  peace 
of  Florence,  to  Sarazana ;  that  his  friend  caught  a  fever  there,  and  died  in 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  Cump.  Furg.  xi.  97,  as  possibly  alluding  to 
him. 

72  The  anguish  of  the  father  at  hearing,  as  he  thought,  of  his  son's  death, 
his  loss  of  the  "  sweet  light "  of  earth,  reminds  us  of  the  rich  man's  anxiety 
in  Luke  xvi.  28  lest  his  brethren  "should  come  into  this  place  of  torment." 

73  The  fierce  pride  of  the  noble  is  not  moved  by  the  agony  of  his  fellow- 
sufferer ;  he  is  simply  absorbed,  in  the  selfishness  which  epicureanism  brings 
with  it,  in  the  shame  of  the  hopeless  exile  of  his  descendants.  He,  in  his 
turn,  uses  the  foresight  given  to  the  damned  (I.  97-108)  to  prophesy  Dante's 
own  exile  within  fifty  months  (the  "  Queen"  =  Proserpine  =  Hecate  =  the 
moon)  from  the  date  of  the  vision,   i.e.,  before  1304.     Dante  was  exiled  in 

77 


HELL  CANTO  X 

"  And  if,"  then  taking  up  his  former  strain. 
He  said,  "  they  have  that  art  so  ill  applied, 
That  more  torments  me  than  this  bed  of  pain. 

But,  ere  is  kindled  for  the  fiftieth  tide 

The  bright  face  of  the  Queen  who  ruleth  here,       ^ 
How  hard  that  art  is  thou  too  shalt  have  tried. 

And  if  in  that  sweet  world  thou  would'st  appear. 
Tell  me  why  still  that  people  is  so  stern 
In  every  law  against  my  lineage  there  ? " 

And  I  :  "  The  carnage  fierce  that  made  them  turn,    ® 
And  bade  the  Arbia  flow  with  crimsoned  tide. 
Makes  them  such  prayers  in  our  temple  learn." 

And  when  he  shook  his  head,  and  therewith  sighed, 
"  In  that  I  stood  not  by  myself,"  he  said, 
"Nor  without  cause  with  others  took  my  side;        ** 

But  by  myself  I  stood  when  all  were  led 
To  bid  Firenzat's  name  and  history  cease, 
And  I  in  her  defence  raised  dauntless  head," 

*'  Ah,"  prayed  I,  "  by  thy  children's  hopes  of  peace. 
Do  thou  that  dim  perplexity  make  clear,  ®^ 

Which  wraps  my  halting  judgment,  ill  at  ease. 

January  1302.  Two  years  more  would  teach  him  that  it  was  not  easy  to 
return.  Possibly  the  precise  date  may  have  been  connected  with  some 
other  fact,  such  as  the  attempt  of  the  Cardinal  da  Prato  to  effect  a  peace 
between  the  Bianchi  and  Neri,  in  April  1304,  the  bearing  of  which  on 
Dante's  fortunes  is  now  not  clear. 

82  The  Uberti  were  excluded  by  name  in  every  edict  of  amnesty.  As 
Dante  answers,  the  slaughter  of  Montaperti  was  a  thing  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. The  "prayers"  refer  either  to  actual  litanies  against  the  plots  of 
the  Uberti,  or  more  probably  to  the  decrees  against  them,  which  are  so 
named  in  irony,  as  being  passed  by  public  assemblies  held  in  the  Church  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist.  So  Farinata's  grandson,  dwelling  on  his  noble  defence 
of  Florence,  pathetically  adds — 

"  It  is  a  marvel  and  a  grief  to  me 
To  find  its  citizens  so  hard  and  stem 
To  ch  ildren's  children  in  the  fourth  degree." — Pas.  iL  28. 

81  Dante,  at  least,  had  not  forgotten  what  half  redeemed  the  character  of 
the  haughty  unbelieving  noble.  The  Ghibelline  allies,  the  Pisans,  the 
Siennese,  the  Guidi,  the  Uberti,  met  in  council  at  Empoli  after  Montaperti. 
They  were  all  ready  to  vote  for  the  destruction  of  the  Guelph  democratic 
Florence.  Fariiiata  alone,  in  the  spirit  of  one  who,  after  all,  loved  his  city 
more  than  his  party,  resisted  and  averted  her  destruction.  Comp.  Sism. 
Jie/.  Ital.  iii.  245-348. 

78 


HELL  CANTO  X 

It  seems  that  ye  for.esee,  if  right  I  hear, 

What  things,  as  time  moves  onward,  shall  arise. 
And  hold  another  course  with  things  full  near." 

"  We  see,"  he  said,  "  as  one  who  hath  dim  eyes,  '** 

The  things  which  yet  are  in  the  distance  far  ; 
Such  light  the  Sovran  King  to  us  supplies  ; 

But  their  approach  or  presence  straight  doth  mar 
Perception,  and,  unless  by  others  told, 
We  nothing  know  how  human  fortunes  are  :  ^'^ 

So  thou  may'st  comprehend  how  dead  and  cold 
Will  be  our  knowledge  from  the  self-same  hour 
When  close  the  doors  that  now  the  future  hold." 

Then  I,  as  one  who  felt  compuHction's  power. 

Said,  "  Tell,  I  pray  thee,  him  who  there  doth  lie    "" 
That  still  with  us  his  son  shares  life's  sweet  dower; 

And  if  till  now  I  mute  was  to  reply. 

Say  it  was  only  that  my  thoughts  were  still 
Entangled  in  that  knot  thy  words  untie." 

100  We  come  across  a  curious  speculation  as  to  the  mental  activities  of  the 
dead.  Ciacco  and  Farinata  foretell  the  future.  Cavalcante  is  ignorant  of 
the  present.  What  is  the  solution  of  the  problem  ?  That  which  is  offered 
here  seems  to  be  that  the  souls  of  the  departed,  being  no  longer  in  contact 
with  the  world  of  sense,  receive  no  knowledge  of  what  is  passing  in  it,  but 
that,  as  spiritual  beings,  they  trace,  as  long  as  time  holds  its  course,  the 
events  that  are  passing  from  the  sphere  of  the  Divine  foreknowledge  into  that 
of  actuality.  When  time  shall  end,  i.e.,  at  the  last  Judgment,  as  the  close 
of  the  great  aeon,  there  will  be  no  future  events,  and  their  knowledge  will  be 
limited  to  their  own  Eternal  Now.  So  Aquinas  limits  the  knowledge  of  the 
disembodied  soul  to/ittura  et  universalia.  The  Dante  of  the  vision  feels, 
in  such  a  case,  as  he  would  have  felt  in  the  world,  and  apologises  for  the 
error  which  had  misled  him. 

119  The  words  bear  witness  to  the  existence,  even  prior  to  the  later  Renais- 
sance, of  a  far  larger  spread  of  unbelief  than  we  commonly  associate  with 
the  13th  century.  The  Monum.  Franc.  (,App.  p.  634),  which  reports  dis- 
cussions among  philosophical  students  utruin  sit  Deus  ?  tell  a  like  tale. 
Foremost  among  the  sceptics  was  the  Emperor,  who  is  here  named,  the 
enemy,  not  only  of  the  Papacy,  but  of  the  faith  of  Christians.  Popular 
legend  connected  his  name  with  the  saying,  "  De  tribus  impostoribus  '  (the 
three  being  Moses,  Christ,  Mahomet),  and  his  court  at  Palermo  was  con- 
spicuous for  the  laxity  both  of  its  faith  and  morals.  As  a  Ghibelline  partisan 
Dante  might  have  glossed  over  the  faults  of  an  emperor  whom  he  admired 
as  a  ruler,  a  patron  of  learning,  and  a  poet  (K.  E.  i.  12),  and  classed  among 
those  "  humana  secuti,  brutalia  dfdignaiites."  As  a  t  atholic,  a  Christian, 
and  a  man,  he  was  constrained  to  hold  him  up  to  eternal  infamy.  See  King- 
tun,  i.  476,  ii.  123;  Church,  p.  119.  Comp.  C.  xiii.  59;  Purg.  iii.  113; 
Malisp.  c.  107. 

79 


HELL  CANTO  X 

And  now,  called  back  by  my  dear  Master's  will,  "* 

I  prayed  that  spirit  with  more  eager  prayer 
To  tell  me  who  with  him  that  space  did  fill. 

"  More  than  a  thousand,"  said  he,  "with  me  fare; 
Within  there  Frederick,  second  of  the  name; 
The  Cardinal,  and  others  whom  I  spare."  ^^ 

Then  was  he  hid,  and  to  that  bard  of  fame 
I  turned  my  steps,  revolving  in  my  mind 
That  saying,  which  to  me  as  hostile  came. 

He  turned,  and  as  he  went,  to  me  behind 

He  said,  "  Why  art  thou  so  disquieted  ? "  ^-^ 

And  I,  as  he  had  asked,  the  cause  assigned, 

"Let  thy  mind  store  what  was  against  thee  said," 
So  spake  my  Master  wise.     "  Now  hear  thou  this," 
With  lifted  finger  pointing  on  ahead, 

"  When  thou  shalt  be  before  that  light  of  bliss  ^^ 

Of  her  whose  beauteous  eye  doth  all  survey, 
Thy  life's  true  journey  then  thou  shalt  not  miss." 

Then  turned  he  to  the  left  from  that  our  way; 
We  left  the  wall,  and  to  the  middle  wound. 
By  path  that  to  a  valley  down  doth  stray,  '^ 

Whence  spread  a  foul  and  sickening  stench  around. 

120  "The  Cardinal,"  so  spoken  o{ par  excellence,  was  Ottaviano  degli 
Ubaldini,  a  contemporary  of  Farinata.  He  too  was  a  Ghibelline,  rich, 
powerful,  luxurious.  He  had  made  a  great  feast  after  the  deffat  of  the 
Florentine  Guelphs  at  Montaperti.  Like  others,  he  had  caught  the  taint  of 
epicureanism,  and  was  reported  to  have  said  that  if  man  had  a  soul,  he  had 
lost  his  in  the  service  of  his  party  {Malisp.  c.  103  ;  Kington,  ii.  454).  He 
took  his  plac:  also  among  the  early  writers  of  Italian  poetry,  and  was  noto- 
rious for  his  luxury  and  licence. 

130  The  light  of  bliss  is,  of  course,  Beatrice.  The  poet's  plan  seems,  how- 
ever, to  have  changed  as  he  went  on,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  hears  the 
story  of  his  life  from  Cacciaguid.i,  to  whom  she  leads  him  (see  Par.  xvii. 
7-30,  where  he  refers  to  the  grievous  words  of  the  present  Canto). 


80 


HELL 


"The  Heresiarchs — Anastas'ms  II. — Classification  of  Sins 

Upon  the  margin  of  a  bank  raised  high, 

Formed  of  great  piles  of  broken  rocks  around. 
We  found  a  throng  in  yet  worse  misery; 

And  there,  because  that  dread  abyss  profound 

Sent  forth  its  stench  o'erwhelming  far  and  wide,        ^ 
A  refuge  we  behind  the  cover  found 

Of  a  great  tomb,  where  I  a  scroll  descried, 
Which  said,  "  Pope  Anastasius  here  I  hold. 
Whom  from  true  path  Photinus  drew  aside." 

"  Slowly  our  course  adown  the  vale  we  hold,  ^° 

Till  that  our  sense  a  little  trained  hath  grown 
To  that  foul  blast  ;  then  use  will  make  us  bold." 

The  Master  thus;  and  I  spake:  "This  alone 
I  ask,  find  some  amends  that  time  pass  by 
Not  lost."    And  he:  "Thou  see'st  I  think  thereon.    ^ 

1-10  The  valley  into  which  the  pilgrims  descend  is  still  part  of  the  circle 
of  the  heretics.  The  stigma  of  heresy  that  attached  to  the  name  of  Anas- 
tasius II.  {d.  498)  was  connected  with  the  question  whether  the  name  of 
Acacius,  the  Monophysite  Bishop  of  Constantinople,  should  be  struck  out 
of  the  diptychs  of  the  Greek  Church  as  tainted  with  the  heresy  of  Sabellius, 
as  had  been  urged  by  his  predecessor,  Felix.  The  Pope  formally  presented 
a  like  request  to  the  Emperor,  also  an  Anastasius,  but  gave  way  on  his 
refusal,  and  was  content  with  the  thought  that  Felix  and  Acacius  were  both 
before  the  tribunal  of  the  Supreme  Judge.  The  suspicion  of  heresy  roused 
by  this^temporising  policy  was  aggravated  by  his  intercourse  with  Photinus, 
not  the  more  conspicuous  Sabellian  of  that  name,  who  died  in  376,  but  a 
deacon  of  Thessalia  who  was  identified  with  the  errors  of  Acacius.  Accord- 
ing to  the  traditions  which  were  current  in  Dante's  time,  his  life  was  cut 
short  by  a  sudden  death,  like  that  of  Arius  in  its  circumstances,  which  was 
looked  on  as  a  Divine  judgment  {Milnian,  L.  C.  i.  349,  and  Chron.  of 
Polono,  quoted  by  Scart  ,  and  D.  C.  B.  s.  v.) 

I''  The  request  forms  the  starting-point  for  one  of  the  episodes  of  theo- 
logical ethics  which  occupy  so  prominent  a  place  in  the  scheme  of  the  Cotti- 
vtedia.  Dante  seeks,  as  it  were,  to  popularise  the  te.iching  of  Aquinas,  in 
which  he  himself  had  found  light  and  guidance.  He  and  his  Guide  are  about 
to  enter  the  circles  of  those  who  have  sinned  in  other  ways  than  that  of  carnal 
lust,  or  prodigality,  or  avarice,  or  direct  heresy.  The  whole  lecture  that 
follows  is  an  introduction  to  the  three,  circles  which  are  next  to  be  visited,  a 
dissertation  on  the  different  kinds  and  degrees  of  evil  which  are  punished  in 
them  ;  the  seventh,  of  sins  of  violence  ;  the  eighth,  of  the  fraudulent,  with 
its  ten  sub-circles  of  varied  evil ;  the  ninth,  of  the  traitors.  This  seemed, 
as  I.  20  shows,  a  more  convenient  method  than  that  of  a  separate  instruction 
at  each  circle.  It  is  based,  as  Oranam  shows  (p.  231),  upon  the  teachings 
of  Aquinas  (Suinni.  i.  qu.  84),  as  that  in  its  turn  was  based  upon  the  Ethics 

81  F 


HELL  CANTO  XI 

My  son,  within  these  stones  that  broken  lie 
Three  circles  are  there,"  he  began  to  tell; 
"  From  grade  to  grade,  like  those  thou  leav'st  on  high  ; 

Filled  full  are  they  of  spirits  doomed  to  Hell. 

But  that  henceforth  it  may  suffice  to  see,  ^ 

Hear  how  and  why  they  lie  in  bondage  fell. 

In  every  sin  that  earns  Heaven's  enmity, 
Men  aim  at  wronging  others,  and  that  aim 
By  force  or  fraud  works  out  the  injury. 

But  because  fraud  is  man's  peculiar  blame,  ^ 

God  hates  it  more,  and  therefore  lower  stand 
The  fraudulent,  and  suffer  greater  shame. 

The  outer  circle  holds  the  fiercer  band; 
But  because  force  is  threefold  in  its  kind. 
In  threefold  circles  it  is  built  and  planned.  '-° 

In  God,  ourselves,  our  neighbour,  we  may  find 
The  wronged  in  person,  or  in  what  they  own. 
As  thou  shalt  hear  with  cause  full  clear  assigned. 

Or  death  or  grievous  wounds  in  malice  done. 

Are  'gainst  our  neighbour's  self;  against  his  right      ^ 
Are  rapine,  arson,  foul  extortion. 

Hence  murderers,  and  those  who  wound  in  spite. 
Robbers  and  brigands,  these,  in  torments  all. 
In  the  first  round  find  each  a  separate  site. 

Again,  man's  force  upon  himself  may  fall,  ** 

Or  on  his  goods;  so  in  the  second  round 
Remorse  that  profits  not  must  him  enthral 

Who  of  your  world  to  rob  himself  is  found, 
Or  gambles,  or  doth  squander  all  he  hath. 
Or  murmurs,  where  contentment  should  abound.      ^ 

of  Aristotle  and  the  Afagna  Moralia  of  Gregory  the  Great  (xxxi.  31).  In 
the  Purg.  we  have  the  more  popular  "seven  sins  "  of  the  Church's  system 
of  Penance  (Witte,  D.  F.  ii.  121). 

36  The  Italian  for  "  extortion,"  toilette  (tribute,  tax),  deserves  a  passing 
note  as  connected  probably  with  the  German  Zoll,  and  finding  its  way  into 
Italian  from  the  oppressive  rule  of  the  German  emperors.  Tolte  has,  how- 
ever, been  suggested  as  a  pos-ible  derivation.  A  v.  I.  gives  collette,  a  word 
with  the  same  meaning,  but  of  Latin  derivation. 
82 


HELL  CANTO  XI 

Force  also  against  God  may  work  in  wrath. 
When  men  in  heart  blaspheme  Him  or  deny, 
Or  swerve  from  Nature  and  her  bounteous  path. 

Wherefore  within  the  smallest  circle  lie 

Cahors  and  Sodom,  marked  with  brand  of  shame,     ^ 
And  he  who  with  his  heart  speaks  blasphemy. 

Fraud,  that  in  every  conscience  worketh  blame, 
A  man  may  work  on  him  who  gives  him  trust. 
Or  one  who  sees  no  ground  to  grant  that  same. 

This  latter  mode  but  so  far  &eems  unjust  ^^ 

That  it  the  natural  bond  of  friendship  breaks; 
So  in  the  second  circle  here  are  thrust 

The  hypocrites,  the  flatterers,  he  who  takes 
Men's  souls  with  spells,  the  thief,  the  simonist. 
Sin's  filthiest  brood,  corrupters,  pimps,  and  rakes.      ^ 

But  by  the  other  mode  that  love  is  missed 

Which  Nature  works,  and  that  which  with  it  blends. 
And  these  a  special  confidence  enlist. 

Hence  in  the  smallest  circle  that  descends 

To  the  world's  centre,  where  Dis  holds  his  throne,  ^ 
Such  traitors  lie  in  woe  that  never  ends." 

And  I  :  "  O  Master,  clear  enough  is  shown 

so  Cahors,  a  city  of  France  in  the  department  of  Lot,  seems  in  the  13th 
century  to  have  been  the  centre  of  banking  operations  on  the  part  of  the 
Fucgers  or  Rothschilds  of  the  time,  who  had  an  evil  repute  as  usurers. 
Even  in  England,  kings,  prelates,  and  nobles  were  in  their  clutches.  The 
name  of  Caorsiiie  had  become  proverbially  identified  with  "usurer"  (Matt. 
Par.  ad  1235  ;  Bocc.  Com.  IJucange,  j.  v.).  In  John  xxii.  (1316)  it  gave 
Western  Christendom  a  Pontiff  stained  with  its  characteristic  vice  (Par. 
xxvii.  58).  The  rationale  of  the  combination  of  those  of  Cahors  with  the 
sin  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain  is  given  in  11.  log-iii.  For  the  circles  of  the 
violent  we  have:  (1)  The  violent  against  others  (C.  xii.)  ;  (2)  against  them- 
selves (C.  xiii.) ;  (3)  against  God  (C.  xiv.);  (4)  against  Nature  (C.  xv.,  xvi.) ; 
and  (s)  against  art  (C.  xvi.).  The  fraudulent  occupy  in  an  ever  descending  scale 
the  ten  pits  of  the  Malebolge  :  (i)  The  seducers  and  panders  (C.  xvii.)  ;  (2)  the 
flatterers  (C.  xviii.)  ;  (3)  the  simoniacs  (C.  xix.)  ;  (4)  the  soothsayers  (C.  xx.); 
(s)  the  peculators  (C.  xxii.)  ;  (6)  the  hypocrites  (C.  xxiii.)  ;  (7)  the  thieves  (C. 
xxiv.,  XXV.);  (8)  the  evil  counsellors  (C.  xxvi.,  xxvii.);  (9)  the  schismatics 
(C.  xxviii.) ;  (10)  alchemists  and  forgers  (C.  xxix.,  xxx.).  Lastly,  in  the 
ninth  circle,  we  have  :  (i)  Caina,  for  traitors  to  their  kindred  ;  (2)  Antenora, 
for  traitors  to  their  country  (C.  xxxii.);  (3)  Ptolomoca,  for  traitors  to  their 
friends  (C.  xxxiii.);  (4)  Giudecca,  for  traitors  to  their  lords,  the  smallest  and 
last  of  all  the  circles  (C.  xxxiv.). 

83 


HELL  CANTO  XI 

Thy  reasoning,  and  distinguishes  aright 
This  pit  and  all  it  claimeth  as  its  own. 

But  tell  me,  those  within  the  lake's  foul  plight,  ""* 

Whom  the  wind  drives  and  whom  the  rainstorms  beat, 
And  those  who  clash  with  words  of  sharpest  spite. 

Why  dwell  they  not  within  this  fiery  seat. 

Here  punished,  if  beneath  God's  wrath  they  bide  ? 
If  not,  why  then  such  treatment  do  they  meet  ?"     ^^ 

And  he  to  me  :  "  Oh,  why  thus  turns  aside 
Thy  wit  to  folly,  as  it  never  used  ? 
Why  to  false  issues  is  thy  mind  applied  ? 

Dost  not  remember  what  thou  hast  perused. 

The  very  words  with  which  thine  Ethics  treat,        *" 
The  threefold  moodswhich  stand  of  Heaven  accused, — 

Unbridled  will,  fixed  evil,  last  we  meet 
Brutal  excess,  and  how  the  unbridled  will, 
God,  blaming  less,  with  fewer  stripes  doth  beat  ? 

If  thou  this  teaching  but  considerest  still,_  ^ 

And  call  to  thy  remembrance  who  they  are 
Who  higher  up  their  penance  dire  fulfil. 

Then  thou  wilt  see  why  they  are  stationed  far 
From  these  offenders,  why  with  torment  less 
The  righteous  strokes  of  God  have  power  to  mar."** 

"O  Sun,  who  dost  dim  sight  with  healing  bless. 
Thou,  when  thou  teachest,  giv'st  me  such  content. 
That  doubt  and  knowledge  bring  like  happiness : 

'0  The  poet  states  for  others,  and  in  order  that  he  may  solve  it,  a  problem 
which  had  weighed  on  his  own  mind.  Why  were  the  sins  of  lust,  the  sins 
of  Tristan  and  Francesca,  and  those  of  avarice  and  prodigality,  in  the 
higher  circles,  and  not  in  those  on  which  he  was  about  to  enter  ?  He  has 
found  the  solution  in  the  law  of  habits  set  forth  by  Aristotle  (£ih.  Nicotn. 
vii.  i),  which  classifies  characters  according  to  the  degree  of  the  hold  the 
evil  has  on  them  :  (i)  KoxCa,  incontinence,  i.e.,  the  want  of  self-control  ; 
(2)  9i)pi'oTJ)S,  the  state  in  which  there  is  no  longer  any  inner  power  to  restrain 
or  punish  passion  ;  (3)  aKpoo-t'o,  the  brute-like  state  into  which  (2)  ultimately 
develops  itself.  Latini's  Tesoro,  vi.  37,  gives  the  classification  which  we 
find  here.  The  works  of  Aristotle  had  been  known  in  Bologna  through 
batin  translations  from  the  Arabic  versions  of  Averrhoes,  whose  "  great 
comment"  is  mentioned  in  C.  iv.  144,  and  there  probably,  or  through 
Brunetto,  Dante  studied  it.  Taught  by  him,  he  learnt  to  distinguish  between 
the  sins  of  impulsive  sense,  of  inveterate  habit,  aud  of  embruted  callousness. 
84 


HELL  CANTO  XI 

Once  more,"  said  I,  "let  thy  glance  back  be  bent, 
There  where  thou  said'st  that  usury  offends  '^ 

God's  goodness  ;  now  untie  that  knot's  intent." 

"  Whoso,"  he  said,  "  to  Wisdom  high  attends, 
Learns  evermore,  not  here  or  there  alone. 
How  Nature  takes  its  methods  and  its  ends 

From  God,  whose  Mind  in  skill  and  art  is  shown  ;     "'** 
And  if  thou  hast  thy  Physics  well  in  mind, 
Thou'lt  find,  ere  many  pages  thou  hast  known. 

Your  Art,  as  far  as  may  be,  close  behind 

Follows,  as  scholars  near  their  teacher  tread  ; 

So  in  your  Art  we  may  God's  grandchild  find.         '"^ 

By  these  two  powers,  if  thou  hast  rightly  read 
The  opening  lore  of  Genesis,  'tis  meet 
The  nations  should  in  life's  true  course  be  led  ; 

And  since  elsewhere  the  usurer  turns  his  feet. 

Nature  herself,  and  in  her  follower  too,  "" 

He  scorns,  since  elsewhere  he  his  hope  doth  seat. 

But  follow  now,  for  I  would  fain  pursue 

My  course :  the  Fishes  with  the  horizon  blend, 
Full  over  Caurus  comes  the  Wain  in  view. 

And  far  out  yonder  see  the  crags  descend.  "^ 

9*  Another  question  presents  itself.  In  what  sense  is  usury  (the  term,  it 
will  be  remembered,  as  throughout  the  teaching  of  Scripture,  included  all 
interest  on  money,  whatever  its  amount)  rightly  classed  as  a  sin  against 
Nature  ?  Here  the  answer  is  found  not  in  the  Ethics,  but  in  the  Physics 
(ii.  2)  of  Aristotle  ;  that  also  had  probably  entered  into  his  Bologna  studies. 
The  argument  stands  thus  :  True  art,  the  art  of  man's  labour  in  acquiring 
wealth,  follows  Nature,  as  Nature  foUuws  God.  The  natural  law  is  stated 
in  Gen.  ii.  15.  Man  is  to  "  eat  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his  brow."  Whatever 
gives  man  bread  without  labour,  as  interest  on  invested  capital  gives  it,  is 
against  that  law,  "takes  another  way."  Such,  at  any  rate,  was  the  teach- 
ing of  Aquinas  (Summ.  ii.  2,  yu.  78)  as  well  as  of  Dante.  I  do  not  discuss 
its  soundness,  and  political  economy,  as  a  science,  comes  to  a  quite  different 
conclusion.  It  is  worth  noting,  however,  (i)  that  Calvin  was  the  first 
theologian  of  eminence  who  maintained  the  lawfulness  of  interest,  (2)  that 
Selden  speaks  of  the  teaching  of  Anglican  divines  as  being  on  the  other  side 
{Table-Talk,  s.  v.  Usury),  and  (3)  that  Dante's  doctrine  has  recently  been 
revived,  with  all  his  wonted  power  of  diction,  by  Mr.  Ruskin  {Usury  and 
the  English  Bishops,  1885). 

113  Of  all  the  problems  of  the  Commedia,  those  presented  by  such  notices 
of  lime  as  this  are  among  the  most  difficult  to  explain,  and,  except  to  the 
student  of  astronomy,  the  least  interesting.  It  will,  I  think,  be  enough  to 
85 


HELL  CANTO  XII 


the  Minotaur — The  Seventh  Circle — Sim  of  Violence — The 
Centaurs — The  Tyrants 

The  place  where  down  the  bank  our  way  we  took, 
Was  alp-like,  and  the  view  that  met  us  there, 
Such  that  for  fear  each  eye  away  would  look. 

So  doth  that  ruin  beyond  Trent  appear, 

Which  on  the  flank  into  the  Adige  dashed,  ^ 

Through  earthquake  or  through  prop  that  failed  to 
bear; 

For  from  the  mountain-top  whence  down  it  crashed 
E'en  to  the  plain  the  rock  so  falls  away. 
That  one  above  might  climb  o'er  stones  detached. 

Such  down  that  steep  abyss  was  then  our  way ;  ^° 

And  on  the  border  of  that  break  i'  th'  earth 
The  infamy  of  Crete  extended  lay. 

Who  from  the  false  cow  drew  his  monstrous  birth ; 
And  when  he  saw  us,  straight  himself  he  bit, 
As  one  all  racked  within  by  fiercest  wrath.  " 

state  that  the  constellation  known  as  the  Fishes  was  in  part  below  the 
horizon,  as  they  would  be  at  early  dawn  at  the  date  of  the  Easter  of  1300, 
when  the  sun  was  in  Aries  ;  that  the  Wain  is  the  Charles's  Wain  (churl's  or 
peasant's  wain  or  waggon)  of  English  speech,  the  Ursa  Major  of  astro- 
nomers ;  that  Caurus,  as  the  Latin  name  for  the  north-west  wind,  indicates 
the  western  quarter  of  the  heaven.  All  this  seems  a  complicated  way  of 
describing  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  Easter  Eve  ;  but  Dante,  like  Milton, 
was  fond  of  showing  that  the  poet  could  also  be  a  man  of  science  (/".  L.  viii. 
1-150).  Lubin,  however,  takes  Coro  as  the  name  of  one  of  the  stars  of  the 
Great  Bear. 

'  The  scene  referred  to  is  probably  that  of  the  landslip  known  as  the 
Slavini  {= precipice)  di  Marco  in  the  gorge  of  the  Chiusa  running  from  the 
Adige  across  the  slopes  of  Mount  Pastello.  The  landslip  is  described  in  the 
History  0/  Verona  by  Delia  Corte  as  having  happened  in  1309,  without 
either  earthquake  or  tempest.  The  date  makes  it  probable  that  Dante  was 
at  Verona  at  the  time,  and  that  the  passage,  if  not  the  whole  Canto,  was 
written  subsequently.  One  pictures  the  student-poet  clambering  down  the 
steep  descent,  not  without  difficulty,  and  perhaps  some  fear,  and  its  horrors 
reproduce  themselves  in  his  vision  of  Hell.     Comp.  Hare,  i.  301. 

12  The  "infamy  of  Crete"  is,  as  in  1.  25,  the  Minotaur,  whose  story 
hardly  needs  telling.  The  Athenian  Duke  is  'Theseus,  one  of  whose  earliest 
feats  was  the  slaughter  of  the  monster.  The  sister  was  Ariadne,  who  loved 
Theseus,  and  gave  him  the  clue  by  which  to  thread  his  way  through  the 
labyrinth  in  which  the  monster  had  his  home.  The  monster-form  is  the  fit 
guardian  of  the  circle  of  those  who  have  allowed  the  brute  element  in  them 
to  overpower  the  human. 

86 


HELL  CANTO  XII 

My  Sage  towards  him  shouted,  "  Seemeth  it, 

Perchance,  that  thou  the  Athenian  Duke  dost  see, 
Who  sent  thee  from  yon  world  to  death's  dark  pit  ? 

Avaunt,  thou  monster!  not  instructed  he 

By  thy  fair  sister,  now  descends  this  way,  * 

But  comes  to  see  your  forms  of  penalty." 

And  as  a  bull,  when  comes  the  hour  to  slay. 
Breaks  loose  as  he  receives  the  deadly  wound. 
And  cannot  walk,  but  wildly  bounds  away. 

So  in  the  Minotaur  like  act  I  found.  ^* 

And  he,  when  ware  of  it,  cried,  "On  apace  ; 
To  the  outlet,  while  he  rages,  get  thee  round." 

So  down  the  broken  bank  our  way  we  trace, 
Over  the  rocks  that  slipped  at  our  advance 
At  the  new  load  my  feet  did  on  them  place.  *" 

I  moved  on,  plunged  in  thought,  and  he  :  "  Perchance, 
Thou  thinkest  on  this  ruin  where  doth  stand. 
As  guard,  that  brute  whose  wrath  quailed  at  my  glance: 

Now  'tis  my  wish  that  thou  shouldst  understand. 

That  when  I  erst  came  down  to  this  deep  Hell,       ^ 
This  rock  had  not  thus  fallen  o'er  the  land. 

Yet  but  a  little  while,  if  I  judge  well. 

Ere  He  came  down  who  bore  His  spoil  away 
From  Dis,  where  souls  i'  th'  upper  circle  dwell : 

On  every  side  this  deep  foul  vale  that  day  *" 

So  shook,  I  thought  the  Universe  had  known 
That  Love  by  which — so  there  are  some  that  say — 

so  The  "  new  load  "  is  the  living  form  that  now  passed  over  the  rocks 
which  had  hitherto  been  trodden  only  by  the  spectral  shadows  of  the  dead. 

35  The  journey  referred  to  is  that  of  C.  ix.  22,  which  was  before  the 
Crucifixion.  The  earthquake  just  before  the  descent  into  Hell  was  that  of 
Matt,  xxvii.  51,  and  is  represented  as  having  affected  even  the  depths  of 
the  Inferno. 

■*2  The  physical  theory  is  that  of  Empedocles,  who  taught  that  the  present 
condition  of  the  material  world  was  the  result  of  a  discord  between  the 
material  atoms  of  which  it  was  composed,  which  forced  them  into  the 
present  arrangements  of  the  cosmos ;  and  that  from  time  to  time  the 
element  of  love  supervened,  bringing  them  into  the  union  of  a  spherical 
chaos,  out  of  which,  in  its  turn,  a  new  cosmos  was  evolved.  See  Art. 
Empedocles  in  Diet.  G.  R.  Biog.  Dante  may  have  learnt  the  theory  from 
87 


HELL  CANTO  XII 

The  world  in  chaos  ofttimes  hath  been  thrown  ; 
And  at  that  moment  fell  this  ancient  mass, 
And  here  and  there  left  many  a  heap  of  stone.  ** 

3ut  fix  thine  eyes  below  ;  for  now  we  pass 
The  stream  of  blood  wherein  both  boiling  lie 
Each  soul  that  others  wronged  by  force.     Alas  ! 

O  blind  desire,  O  fierce  insanity. 

Which  spurs  us  on  in  this  life's  little  span,  ^" 

And,  in  the  eternal,  steeps  in  misery  !  " 

Wide  fosse  I  saw,  which  like  a  crescent  ran. 

As  one  which  doth  the  whole  wide  plain  embrace, 
Ev'n  as  my  Guide  had  told  me  of  its  plan  ; 

And  'twixt  it  and  the  bank's  foot,  each  in  trace  ^° 

Of  other,  armed  with  arrows.  Centaurs  sped. 
As  in  the  world  they  used  to  go  a-chase  ; 

And  seeing  us  descend,  each  stayed  his  tread. 

And  from  the  troop  detached,  each  with  his  bow 
And  arrows,  three  of  them  came  on  ahead  ;  ®' 

And  one  cried  out  from  far,  "  What  doom  of  woe 
Awaits  you  who  descend  this  dreary  shore  ? 
Speak  where  ye  are,  or  else  I  draw  the  bow." 

the  Physics  of  Aristotle  (Ritter,  Anc.  Phil.  v.  c.  6),  or  from  Cic.  de  Antic 
c.  vii. 

*■<  The  stream  of  blood  is,  of  course,  the  fit  symbol  of  a  punishment  like  in 
kind  to  the  crimes  which  are  punished.  We  are  reminded  of  the  words  of 
Tomyris  as  she  cast  the  head  of  Cvrus  into  a  vessel  of  blood  :  "  This  thou 
didst  thirst  for ;  now  take  thy  fill  of  it  "  (Herod,  i.  214  ;  Pvrg.  xii.  56). 

56  The  Centaurs,  half-man  and  half-horse,  are  chosen  as  symbolising  the 
state  in  which  the  true  nature  of  humanity  is  marred  by  its  combination 
with  the  wild  passions  of  the  brute.  Of  the  three  who  are  named,  Chiron 
appears  in  mythology  as  the  son  of  Saturn,  the  "  most  just  "  (Hom.  //.  xi. 
831),  the  least  brutalised,  who  trained  Achilles  to  heroic  deeds,  j^isculapius 
in  the  art  of  medicine.  Nessus,  led  to  outrage  by  his  passion  for  Deianira, 
gave  her  the  garment,  envenomed  by  his  own  blood,  which  caused  the 
death  of  Hercules,  and  formed  the  subject  of  the  Trachin'an  Maidens  of 
S«phocles.  Pholus  was  related  to  have  interrupted  the  wedding  feast  of 
Peirithous  and  Hippodamia  in  the  fierce  violence  of  lust  {Purg.  xxiv.  121). 
In  each  of  the  three,  Dante,  we  may  believe,  saw  the  type  of  the  various 
degrees  of  deepening  evil  which  come  when  the  brute  nature  mars  the  com- 
pleteness of  the  human  life,  beginning  with  half-genial  animation  and  pass- 
ing on  into  sheer  ferocity  (Ruskin,  F.  C.  xxiv.  8-14).  So  the  Centaur  appears 
in  Giotti's  "Obedience  "  fresco  at  Assisi. 


HELL  CANTO  XII 

Then  said  my  Master  to  them,  "  Answer  more 

We  will  to  Chiron  make,  who  standeth  near  ;  ^'' 

111  sped  for  thee  thy  will  so  rash  of  yore." 

Then  touched  he  me  and  said,  "See  Nessus  here, 
Who  for  the  beauteous  Deianira  bled. 
And  for  himself  wrought  vengeance  dire  and  drear. 

He  in  the  midst,  who  breastward  bends  his  head,  '" 

Is  Chiron  great,  who  did  Achilles  train  ; 
The  other  Pholus,  filled  with  anger  dread. 

Thousands  the  fosse  skirt,  thousands  yet  again. 

Shooting  at  every  soul  that  lifts  its  frame,         [stain." 
More  than  his  guilt  fits,  from  that  blood-stream's     '° 

We  to  those  swift-paced  monsters  nearer  came, 
And  Chiron  took  a  dart,  and  then  he  drew 
Behind  his  jaws  his  beard  back  with  the  same  ; 

And  when  his  great  mouth  bare  appeared  in  view. 
He  said  to  his  companions,  "Do  ye  see  *" 

That  he  behind,  in  touching,  moveth  too  ? 

Not  so  a  dead  man's  steps  are  wont  to  be." 

And  my  good  Guide,  who  now  had  reached  the  breast. 
Where  the  two  natures  met  in  unity, 

Answered,  "  He  lives  indeed  ;  'tis  my  behest  ** 

To  show  to  him  alone  this  valley  drear. 
Not  for  delight,  but  by  high  fate  imprest. 

For  One  hath  ceased  her  Alleluia  clear 
Who  this  new  office  hath  to  me  assigned  : 
No  robber  he,  nor  felon  stand  I  here  ;  "* 

77  Ruskin's  note  on  this  passage,  as  showing  that  what  Dante  wrote  was 
not,  as  with  second-rate  artists,  the  work  of  a  deliberate  invention,  but  the 
description  of  what  he  had  actually  seen,  as  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  is 
eminently  characteristic  (M.  P.  iii.  8). 

**S  The  reader  will  remember  the  parallels  as  to  the  poet's  mission  in  C.  iii. 
94,  ix.  94.  The  general  kindliness  of  the  Centaurs,  and  specially  of  Chirou, 
seems  to  embody  the  thought  that  where  the  union  of  the  man  with  the 
brute  (as  e.g^.,  in  the  case  of  savage  races  "who  know  not  their  Lord's 
will ")  is  not  the  result  of  choice,  there  are  capacities  for  good  which  may 
make  them  willing  instruments  alike  tor  the  punishment  of  evil  and  the  help 
of  good.  Theirs  is  not  a  real  9r)pioTr|s  (  =  brutality),  as  a  brutalised  humanity 
is.    (Comp.  C.  xi.  82,  Arist.  Ei/t.  vii.  5.) 

88  The  "  one  "  =  Beatrice. 


HELL  CANTO  xn 

But,  by  that  Power  through  whose  protection  kind 
My  footsteps  move  along  this  pathway  fell. 
Give  us  a  guide,  whom  we  may  near  us  find, 

To  show  us  where  the  stream  is  fordable. 

One  on  whose  back  this  man  may  sit  astride  ;        *   ®"' 
No  spirit  he,  through  air  to  travel  well." 

Then  Chiron  turned  towards  his  right-hand  side, 
And  said  to  Nessus,  "  Take  thou  them,  and  lead  : 
If  others  check  thee,  bid  them  turn  aside," 

We  then  with  trusty  escort  straight  proceed  ^^ 

Along  the  edge  of  that  red  boiling  stream. 
Wherein  those  seething  wailed  each  guilty  deed. 

Sunk  to  the  eyebrows  some  of  them  did  seem. 
And  the  great  Centaur  said,  "The  tyrants  these. 
Who  plunged  in  blood  and  rapine's  worst  extreme  :  ^^ 

Their  ruthless  deeds  they  wail  here,  ill  at  ease. 
See  Alexander,  Dionysius  there, 
Who  vexed  Siciliawith  long  cruelties. 

lOT  The  list  of  the  tyrants  of  earth  who  are  singled  out  from  amons: 
thousands  as  types  is  interesting  as  furnishing  data  for  a  study  of  Dante's 
historical  sympathies,  (i)  Alexander  is  probably  not  the  Macedonian  con- 
queror, bat  the  Thessalian  tyrant  of  Phera;.  Of  the  former  Dante  speaks 
elsewhere  as  "approaching  to  the  type  of  a  tru'e  universal  monarchy" 
(Men.  ii.  9),  as  worthy  of  honour  for  his  deeds  of  kingly  goodness  {Conv.  iv. 
11).  On  the  other  hand,  Dante  may  have  changed  his  estimate,  and  been 
influenced  by  his  favourite,  Lucan,  who  speaks  (Phars.  x.  19)  of  Alexander 
as  the  "proles  vesana  Philippi"  and  as  a  "Jelix  pmdo."  (2)  Dionysius 
the  elder,  tyrant  of  Syracuse,  who  oppressed  Sicily  B.C.  408-367.  The  "  long 
cruelties,"  lit.  "grievous  years,"  reads  like  an  echo  of  the  "'  tristes  ceedibus 
edidit  annos  "  of  Statius,  another  of  Dante's  favourite  poets  [Achill.  i.  80). 
(3)  Azzolino  (or  Ezzelin)  da  Romano,  tyrant  of  the  Marca  Trevigiana  and 
Lombardy  from  1230-60.  Here  also  Dante  condemns  a  Ghibelline.  Ezzelin 
was  son-in-law  of  Frederick  II.,  and  ruled  his  province  as  an  Imperial  vicar. 
Of  all  the  tyrants  of  that  evil  time  Ezzelin,  known  in  popular  legend  as  the 
Child  of  the  Devil,  was  the  most  steeped  in  cruelties.  Sismondi  shrinks 
from  telling  the  tale  of  his  rapacity,  his  massacres,  his  fiendish  tortures  of 
his  enemies.  And  his  death  was  the  fit  close  of  such  a  life.  Wounded  and 
taken  captive  on  his  way  to  attack  Milan,  he  was  imprisoned  at  Soriano, 
refused  all  food  and  medical  aid,  sat  for  eleven  days  in  gloomy  silence,  tore 
the  bandages  from  his  wound,  and  died  (Arrio.  ii.  t.  2  ;  Sism.  Republ.  Ital. 
c.  xix.  ;  Kington,  i.  503,  ii.  67,  309-312).  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
Cunizza  oi  Par.  ix.  31  was  his  sister,  and  that  she  was  beloved  by  the  Bor- 
dello of  Purg.  vi.  74.  (4)  Obizzo  II.  of  Este,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a 
Guelph  leader.  Marquis  of  Ferrara  and  Ancona  from  1264-93,  and  was  there- 
fore a  contemporary  of  Dante's,  and  by  his  marriage  in  1269  with  the 
90 


HELL  CANTO  xir 

That  forehead  there,  o'erhung  with  swarthy  hair, 
Is  Azzolino,  and  that  other  head  ""^ 

Is  Ohizzo  of  Esti's  visage  fair, 

Whose  blood  on  earth  was  by  his  stepson  shed." 
Then  turned  I  to  the  Poet  and  he  spake, 
"Let  him  before  thee,  I  behind  thee,  tread." 

Soon  as  we  walked,  I  saw  the  Centaur  make  "^ 

A  halt  hard  by  a  race  that  plunged  were  shown 
To  the  throat,  then  rose  from  out  that  bubbling  lake. 

A  shade  he  showed  us,  on  one  side,  alone, 

And  said,  "  In  God's  own  lap  he  pierced  the  heart 
Which,  held  in  honour,  on  the  Thames  is  known."  ^^° 

Then  I  saw  those  who  all  their  upper  part 
Above  the  river  held,  both  chest  and  head  ; 
Of  many,  memories  in  my  mind  did  start. 

So  step  by  step  the  depth  diminished 

Of  that  blood-stream,  till  but  the  feet  were  wet,     ^^^ 
And  there  from  out  the  fosse  our  passage  led. 

daughter  of  Alberto  della  Scala  was  brother-in  law  to  Dante's  patron  Can 
Grande.  The  dominant  belief  of  the  time  was  that  his  eldest  son,  alone  or 
with  his  next  brother,  had  assassinated  him  because  he  had  left  the  lordship 
of  Ferrara  to  his  third  and  favourite  son.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  "  step- 
son" which  is  used  to  describe  him  {Arrio.  i.  i  ;  Kington,  ii.  310). 

117  The  degrees  of  immersion  in  the  blood-river  correspond  to  the  degrees 
of  guilt. 

118  Xhe  passage  is  one  of  the  few  in  the  Commedia  which  bring  us  into 
contact  with  English  history  (comp.  Purg.  vii.  131).  The  murderer  is 
Guido,  or  Guy,  de  Montfort,  son  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  Earl  of  Leicester. 
The  date  is  1271,  six  years  after  the  defeat  and  death  of  the  father 
at  the  battle  of  Evesham.  The  victim  is  Henry,  son  of  Richard,  Earl 
of  Cornwall,  the  brother  of  Henry  III.,  afterwards  a  candidate  for  the 
Empire.  The  scene  is  at  Viterbo,  where  the  cardinals  were  assembled  for 
the  election  of  a  Pope  as  successor  to  Clement  IV.  The  prince  was  attending 
mass  in  the  church  of  S.  Silvestro,  and  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  receiving  the 
host,  was  stabbed  by  the  assassin,  and  his  body  dragged  by  the  hair  into 
the  open  street.  It  was  afterwards  embalmed  and  deposited  in  the  abbey 
of  Hayles  in  Gloucestershire  ;  but  the  heart,  enclosed  in  a  golden  vase,  was 
placed  on  the  tomb  of  Edward  the  Confessor  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and 
thus  was  "held  in  honour  on  the  Thames"  (Barlow,  p.  124).  The  passage 
takes  its  place,  as  I  have  shown  elsewhere  {Contemp.  Rev.  Dec.  i88i),  in  the 
evidence  which  shows  that  Dante  probably  visited  London  and  Oxford  as 
well  as  Paris  {Par.  x.  136),  Cologne  (C.  xxiii.  63),  and  Bruges  (/«/".  xv.  4). 
It  is  noticeable  that  the  same  fact  is  referred  to  in  the  Dittamondo  of  Fazio 
degli  Uberti,  ii.  29. 

91 


HELL  CANTO  XII 

"  As  on  this  side  the  stream  thine  eye  hath  met 
Still  lessening  in  its  depth  of  seething  blood," 
The  Centaur  said,  "but  thou  must  not  forget 

That  on  the  other  deepens  still  its  flood  *^ 

'  Till  its  bed  comes  at  last  full  round  again, 
Where  in  fit  penance  wails  the  tyrant  brood. 

There  God's  great  justice  smites  with  ceaseless  pain 
That  Attila  who  was  the  earth's  great  scourge, 
Pyrrhus  and  Sextus,  and  doth  still  constrain  '^ 

The  tears  it  draws  forth  with  its  seething  surge 
In  Pazzo  and  Corneto,  each  Rinier, 
Who  on  the  roads  war's  havoc  dread  did  urge." 

Then  turned  he  back  and  crossed  the  shallows  near. 

133  The  mention  of  Attila,  who  is  described  by  the  name  which  he  gave 
himself  as  being  "  the  scourge  of  God,"  is  probably  connected  with  the  tra- 
dition which  Dante  seems  to  have  believed,  that  Florence  had  been  laid 
waste  by  him  (C.  xiii.  149). 

135  Doubts  have  been  raised  by  commentators,  but  there  can  scarcely  be 
any  question  that  the  Pyrrhus  named  here  is  the  King  of  Epirus,  and  the 
Sextus  the  son  of  Pompeius.  As  regards  the  last,  Dante  may  have  had  in 
his  mind  the  line  of  Lucan  (vi.  113) — 

"  Polluit  aquoreos  Siculus  Virata  triumphos." 

137  Again  we  have  the  Ghibelline  poet  condemning  the  sins  of  his  own 
party.  The  Rinier  of  Corneto,  in  the  Maremma,  near  Viterbo,  seems  to 
have  been  one  of  the  old  feudal  lords  who  were  the  curse  of  Italy,  issuing 
from  their  rock  strongholds  to  plunder  merchants,  ravage  villages,  and 
checking  the  growing  prosperity  of  towns.  Lubin  identifies  him  with  the 
father  of  Dante's  friend  and  protector,  Uguccione  della  Faggiuola,  who  was 
named  Rinier,  and  had  a  castle  at  Corneto.  Rinier  Pazzo  comes  into  closer 
contact  with  Dante's  history.  His  castle  was  in  the  Val  d'Arno,  between 
Florence  and  Arezzo,  and  the  former  city  passed  laws  to  restrain  his  depre- 
dations. Both  were  said  to  have  been  employed  by  Frederick  II.  (1228)  to 
rob  the  Roman  bishops,  and  the  latter  was  excommunicated  by  Clement  I V. 
*ni269(C«.). 


9» 


HELL  CANTO  XIII 

The  Forest  of  Suicides — The  Harpies — Pier  della  Vigm — Lam 
of  Siena — Jacofo  da  Sani'  Andrea 

Not  yet  had  Nessus  reached  the  farther  shore, 
When  we  within  a  wood  an  entrance  found, 
By  not  one  single  pathway  traversed  o'er  ; 

Not  green  the  leaves,  but  of  a  hue  embrowned, 

Nor  smooth  the  boughs,  but  gnarled  and  intertwined,  * 
No  fruit,  but  thorns  that  poison  as  they  wound. 

Thickets  so  wild  and  dense  they  do  not  find. 

Those  beasts  of  prey  which  cultured  regions  hate. 
Where  Cecin's  streams  beyond  Corneto  wind. 

There  the  foul  Harpies  made  their  nest  and  sate,         '** 
Who  from  the  Strophades  the  Trojans  drove 
With  warnings  sad  of  coming  evil  fate  ; 

Wide  wings  have  they,  a  human  face  above. 

Claws    on    their    feet,    their   paunch    all     feather'd 

o'er, 
And  their  wild  wailings  fill  the  wondrous  grove.       "' 

And  my  good  Master  :  "  Ere  thou  enter  more. 
Know  thou  art  in  the  second  circle's  pale," 
So  said  he,  "  and  shalt  be  till  thou  the  shore 

Shalt  reach  where  horrid  sand  fills  all  the  vale. 

Therefore  look  well  around,  and  thou  shalt  see        ^ 
Things  that  might  shake  thy  credence  in  my  tale." 

2  The  description  that  follows,  and  the  thought  of  the  souls  that  form  the 
trees  in  the  dense  forest,  are  manifestly  reproduced  from  the  story  of  Poly 
dorus  and  the  Harpies  in  yEw.  iii.  19-68.  The  reference  to  the  "  auri  sacti 
James  "  of  yEn.  iii.  57  in  Purg.  xxii.  40  shows  how  much  that  part  of  Virgil's 
poem  had  impressed  itself  on  Dante's  mind.  The  mention  of  Corneto  indi- 
cates a  sequence  of  thought  with  the  closing  lines  of  the  preceding  canto. 
The  Cecina  is  a  river  flowing  into  the  sea  a  little  south  of  Leghorn,  and, 
with  the  Marta,  on  which  Corneto  stands,  encloses  the  wild  gloomy  region 
of  the  Maremma,  which,  with  its  swamps,  its  miasma  (C.  xxix.  48),  and  its 
wild  boars  and  serpents  (C.  xxv.  19),  seemed  to  Dante  the  type  of  an  almost 
infernal  desolation.  The  Harpies  are  taken  by  some  interpreters  as  symbols 
of  remorse  ;  but  qu.  ? 

17  The  second  circle  is,  as  has  been  said  in  the  note  on  C.  xi.  40,  that  of 
the  self-murderers. 

^  A  zi.  /.gives  "things  that  would  gain  thy  credence,"  but  the  text  is 
preferable. 

93 


HELL  CANTO  xiir 

On  all  sides  round  deep  groans  of  misery 

I  heard,  yet  saw  no  forms  from  which  they  came  ; 
Wherefore  I  stopped  in  sore  perplexity. 

I  think  he  thought  that  I  thought  of  the  same,  '^ 

That  from  amid  those  trunks,  from  many  a  throat. 
Came  voice  of  those  who  hid  themselves  for  shame. 

Wherefore  my  Master  said,  "  If  thou  take  note 

What  comes,  if  thou  one  bough  of  these  trees  break, 
Then  will  thy  thoughts  as  baseless  error  float."         ^ 

Then  stretched  I  somewhat  forth  my  hand  to  take. 
And  plucked  a  branch  from  off  a  tall  thorn  tree. 
And    the    trunk    cried,    "  Why   this    dire    mangling 
make? " 

And  when  with  blood  it  was  embrowned  to  see. 

He  cried  again,  "Why  dost  thou  rend  me  so?  ^ 

Doth  nought  of  pity's  spirit  dwell  in  thee? 

Men  were  we  once,  now  here  as  trees  we  grow; 
But  were  we  souls  sprung  from  the  viper's  brood, 
Thy  reckless  hand  might  well  more  pity  show." 

As  when  one  burns  a  brand  of  greenest  wood  *" 

At  one  end,  and  the  other  spits  and  groans 
And  hisses,  as  the  air  and  damp  exude, 

So  from  that  broken  stem  came  mingled  tones 
Of  words  and  blood;  and  so  I  let  the  bough 
Fall,  and  stood  there,  fear  shaking  all  my  bones.       *^ 

"Had  he  been  able  to  believe  ere  now," 

My  Sage  made  answer,  "  O  thou  wounded  soul. 
What  thus  he  sees,  as  my  verse  taught  him  how. 

He  had  withheld  his  hand  and  left  thee  whole; 

But  the  surpassing  marvel  made  me  lead  ^ 

His  mind  to  that  which  fills  me  now  with  dole. 

25  The  introspective  thought-reading  is  eminently  characteristic  of  the 
subtle  play  of  the  coriscious.ness  of  a  poet  of  the  first  order,  just  as  the 
similitude  of  1.  40  is  of  the  imagination  which  seeks  for  similes,  not  as 
ornaments,  but  as  the  fittest  illustrations  of  what  the  poet's  inner  eye  had 
actually  seen. 

^1   ihe  action  and  its  sequel  are  identical  with  those  of  y£«.  iii.  23. 
94 


HELL  CANTO  XIII 

But  tell  him  who  thou  wert,  that  he  his  deed 
Atone  for,  by  reviving  there  thy  fame 
Where  he  may  soon  with  backward  steps  proceed." 

"So  charm  thy  sweetwords,"  from  the  trunk  there  came  ^ 
The  cry,  "I  cannot  hold  my  peace,  and  ye, 
If  I  am  somewhat  prolix,  spare  your  blame. 

None  other  I  than  he  who  held  each  key 

Of  Frederick's  heart,  and  turned  them  to  and  fro. 
Locking,  unlocking,  with  such  subtlety,  ^ 

That  to  none  else  his  secrets  would  he  show; 
And  my  high  task  I  wrought  with  zeal  so  true. 
Pulse  ceased  to  beat,  nor  did  I  slumber  know. 

The  harlot  who  her  lewd  eyes  ne'er  withdrew 

From  the  high  palace  of  the  Caesar's  state  ^ 

(The  common  bane  and  vice  of  courts  she  grew), 

Inflamed  all  minds  against  me  with  fierce  hate. 
And  they  inflamed,  Augustus  so  inflamed. 
That  joyous  honour  turned  to  sorrows  great, 

57  The  story  is  one  of  the  saddest  in  the  whole  poem.  Dante's  mind 
seems  to  have  been  haunted  by  it,  as  by  all  the  other  miseries  and  crimes 
which  he  associated  with  the  reign  of  Frederick  II.,  as  that  which  had 
marred  the  ideal  of  a  true  empire  and  tainted  the  whole  life  of  Italy.  The 
speaker  is  Pier  della  Vigne,  the  chancellor  of  that  Emperor.  The  son  of  a 
vinedresser  of  Capua,  he  had  studied  civil  law  at  Bologna,  and  had  risen  to 
a  high  place  in  his  master's  favour  as  a  counsellor  during  his  long  struggle 
with  the  Papacy,  and  was  also  a  poet — an  Italian  poet — of  no  mean  order. 
The  jealousy  of  other  courtiers  prompted  them  to  lying  slanders,  and  it  was 
whispered  that  he  betrayed  the  Emperor's  secrets  to  the  Pope,  and  that  he 
had  conspired  with  his  enemies  to  poison  him.  Frederick  believed  the 
charges,  blinded  him  by  compelling  him  to  hold  his  face  over  red-hot  iron, 
and  threw  him  into  prison  at  Pisa,  where,  according  to  the  register  of  the 
New  Hospital  in  the  archives  of  that  city,  he  anticipated  the  death  by 
stoning  to  which  he  had  been  destined,  by  dashing  his  head  against  the  wall 
of  his  dungeon  {Scart.;  Kington,  ii.  478-503  ;  Sism.  //.  R.  I.  iii.  70).  Dante, 
in  this  instance,  while  his  stern  theology  makes  him  condemn  the  suicide, 
with  no  thought  of  a  verdict  of  "temporary  insanity,"  is  stirred  by  his  pro- 
found pity  to  vindicate  the  character  of  the  man  who  had  thus  been  done  to 
death  by  slanderous  tongues.  The  passage  is  memorable  as  having  been 
reproduced  by  Chaucer  (Prol.  to  Legend  of  Good  Pi^omen) — 

"  Envie  is  lavender  of  the  court  al  way. 
For  she  ne  parteth,  neither  night  nor  day, 
Out  of  the  house  of  Caesar,  thus  saith  Dant." 

Chaucer's  "lavender"  =  lavandiere,  a  euphemism  for  Dante's  meretrice. 
95 


HELL  CANTO  XIII 

And  my  proud  soul,  that  scorned  to  live  so  shamed,      ""^ 
Thinking  by  death  to  'scape  the  pangs  of  scorn, 
Made  me  blameworthy,  'gainst  myself  unblamed. 

By  the  root-fibres  of  this  tree  new-born, 
I  swear  to  you  that  faith  I  never  brake 
Towards  my  lord,  whom  all  good  did  adorn.  ^* 

If  one  of  you  his  upward  journey  take. 
Let  him  redeem  my  memory,  which  lies 
Sore  smitten,  nor  from  envy's  blow  can  wake." 

He  paused,  then  "  Seize  the  moment  ere  it  flies," 

The  Poet  said,  "since  he  is  silent  now;  ^ 

Speak  and  ask  more  as  thoughts  within  thee  rise." 

And  I  to  him  replied,  "  Nay,  question  thou 
Of  what  thou  think'st  my  wish  will  satisfy; 
Such  pity  moves  me,  that  I  know  not  how." 

Then  he  began  :  "  So  may  the  man  comply  * 

With  liberal  will  in  all  thy  words  beseech. 
Imprisoned  soul,  as  thou  wilt  in  reply 

The  manner  of  the  soul's  confinement  teach 

In  these  gnarled  trunks,  and  tell  us,  if  thou  may, 

If  any  from  such  limbs  doth  freedom  reach."  ^ 

Then  sighed  the  sturdy  trunk,  and  lo!  straightway 
That  whistling  wind  was  turned  to  voice  of  man. 
"  With  briefest  word  I  will  mine  answer  say. 

When  the  fierce  spirit  quitteth,"  he  began, 

"  The  body  which  in  wrath  it  left  behind,  ^ 

Then  Minos  sends  it  to  the  seventh  pit's  span; 

Into  the  wood  it  falls,  no  place  assigned. 

But  there,  where  Fortune  speeds  its  arrow's  chance, 
Like  grain  of  spelt,  it  buds  from  out  its  rind, 

78  The  testimony  to  the  noble  qualities  of  Frederick,  which  might  have 
made  him  the  saviour  of  Italy,  had  they  not  been  marred  by  his  sensuality 
and  unbelief,  agrees  with  the  K.  £.  i.  12,  where  he  speaks  of  the  "  nobility 
and  righteousness"  of  him  and  of  his  son  Manfred,  and  of  both  as 
" humana  secuti,  brutalia  dedignantes."  Even  in  those  in  whom  evil 
triumphed  he  recognised  the  vestiges  of  a  better  nature.  In  this  instance 
the  exili-d  poet  spoke  as  a  fellow  sufferer,  whose  character  had  been 
blackened  by  the  "envy"  of  his  political  opponents, 
96 


HELL  CANTO  XIII 

And  its  young  shoots  to  forest  tree  advance  :  '"*' 

The  Harpies  then  its  tender  leaves  devour, 
Wound,  and  an  outlet  make  for  utterance. 

We,  like  the  rest,  shall  come  in  judgment's  hour, 
To  seek  but  not  resume,  our  earthly  dress  ; 
O'er  what  he  casts  aw^ay  man  loses  power.  ^*® 

These  we  shall  drag,  and  through  this  wilderness 
So  drear  each  tree  its  several  corpse  shall  bear. 
Hung  on  the  thorn  of  soul  in  sharp  distress." 

Still  to  that  trunk  we  gave  a  listening  ear. 

Thinking  that  yet  he  fain  would  further  speak,       "° 
When  we  a  tumult  new  and  strange  did  hear. 

As  one  who  stands  where  dogs  the  wild  boar  seek, 
And  hears  them  rushing  wildly  on  their  prey, 
The  crash  of  beasts  and  branches  which  they  break, 

Lo  !   through  the  space  that  on  our  left  hand  lay,        "° 
Two  nude  and  wounded  forms  sped  on  so  fast. 
They  broke  the  tangled  boughs   that  stopped   their 
way. 

The  foremost  cried,  "  O  hasten.  Death,  O  haste  !  " 
The  other  then,  whose  pace  seemed  somewhat  slow. 
Cried,  "Lano,  not  so  quick  and  nimble-paced  ^^ 

102  The  thought  of  the  strange  transformation,  in  which  one  traces  the 
student  of  Ovid,  as  in  the  serpent  metamorphoses  of  C.  xxiv.,  seems  to  be 
that  the  miseries  of  the  lost  souls  only  found  utterance  when  a  branch  was 
broken  either  by  the  Harpies  or  by  the  hands  of  others. 

118  The  history  of  the  "  two  naked  forms"  may  be  briefly  told,  (i)  Lano 
(diminutive  of  Ercolano)  was  of  Siena,  the  companion  of  the  rich  volup- 
tuaries of  C.  xxix.  110-138,  and  with  them  wasted  his  substance  in  riotous 
living.  When  the  Siennese  were  defeated  by  the  Aretines  in  a  skirmish  at 
Pieve  del  Toppo,  near  Arezzo,  he  threw  himself  into  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy,  seeking  death  rather  than  endure  the  poverty  which  awaited  him  at 
home  (Bocc.  Com.).  (2)  Jacopo  of  S.  Andrea  was  in  like  evil  repute  at 
Padua,  and  strange  stories  were  told  of  his  wanton  prodigality,  flinging 
gold  coins  into  the  sea  at  Venice,  burning  one  of  his  own  villas  that  he 
might  see  a  fire,  or  a  peasant's  cottage  that  he  might  warm  himself  on  his 
return  from  hunting.  Both  the  sinners  belong,  of  course,  to  another  class 
than  the  self-murderers,  and  are  among  those  who,  as  in  C.  xi.  41,  have 
destroyed  not  their  life,  but  their  means  of  living.  The  sneer  in  I.  121  may 
perhaps  imply  that,  after  all,  he  was  >omewhat  slow  in  his  movement, 
whether  of  attack  or  flight.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  black  dogs  are 
probably  symbols  of  the  creditors  of  the  two  prodigals. 

97  G 


HELL  CANTO  XIII 

Thy  legs,  when  thou  to  Toppo's  jousts  did'st  go  ;  " 
And  then,  perchance  because  his  breath  did  fail, 
Himself  one  group  made  with  the  bush  below. 

Behind  them  dogs  through  all  the  woodland  vale 

Ranged  far  and  wide,  black,  fierce,  of  swiftest  tread,  '-^ 
As  greyhounds  from  the  leash  their  foe  assail. 

Him  who  there  crouched  they  bit  until  he  bled, 
And  limb  by  limb  with  fangs  relentless  tore, 
And  then  bore  off  the  fragments  raw  and  red. 

And  then  my  Guide,  my  hand  by  his  clasped  o'er,       ^^ 

Led  me  to  that  same  bush,  whence  vain  sighs  broke 
From  out  its  broken  branches,  bleeding  sore. 

"  Jacopo  of  Sant'  Andrea,"  so  he  spake, 

"  What  helped  it  thee  to  make  of  me  a  screen  ? 
What  blame  on  me  falls  for  thy  foul  life's  sake  ?  "  ^^ 

And  when  my  Guide  o'er  him  erect  was  seen. 

He  said,  "  Who  wert  thou,  who  from  many  a  pore 
Thy  dolorous  speech  sigh'st  out  with  blood  between?" 

And  he  to  us  :  "  O  souls,  who  to  this  shore 

Have  come  to  see  the  deed  of  foulest  shame  "° 

Which  from  my  trunk  my  leaves  and  branches  tore, 

At  foot  of  this  sad  bush  collect  the  same  : 
I  of  that  city  was  that  chose  as  lord 
The  Baptist,  whence  her  lord  of  earlier  fame 

143  xhe  unnamed  suicide  has  been  conjecturally  identified  :  (i)  with  a 
judge  of  the  AgU  family,  who,  having  been  condemned  for  a  corrupt  judg- 
ment, hung  himself,  as  in  1.  151,  in  his  own  house ;  (2)  with  a  Rocco  de 
Mozzi,  a  nch  man  whose  excesses  brought  him  to  poverty  and  drove  him 
to  suicide.  The  passage  depends  for  its  significance  on  a  knowledge  of  the 
early  history  of  Florence.  Mars,  it  was  said,  had  been  of  old  its  tutelary 
god,  and  his  temple  foims  the  substructure  of  the  present  Baptistery. 
When  the  Empire  became  Christian,  Florence  took  St.  John  the  Baptist  as 
its  patron  saint,  and  the  image  of  Mars  was  placed  as  a  kind  of  historical 
^Uadium  in  a  tower  near  the  Arno.  When  the  city  was  laid  waste  by 
Totila  (whom  Dante  confuses  with  Attila)  in  450,  it  was  thrown  into  the 
Arno  ;  recovered  when  Charlemagne  rebuilt  the  city,  and  placed  on  the 
Ponte  Vecchio.  In  1078  the  bridge  was  carried  away  by  a  flood,  and  the 
statue  fell  into  the  river,  was  recovered  and  replaced  in  1218,  and  finally 
disappeared  in  another  flood  in  1333.  As  long  as  it  remained  there  was  an 
ann\ial  festival  in  its  honour  (Gut.  Pis.),  and  it  was  decked  with  wreaths  of 
flowers.  The  whole  passage  is  full  of  a  concentrated  sarcasm.  What  is 
really  meant  is  that  the  Florentines  worshipped  not  the  Baptist,  but  his 
98 


HELL  CANTO  XIV 

Still  mars  her  peace  with  all  his  art  abhorred  ;  "^ 

And  were  there  not,  where  men  the  Arno  pass, 
Some  image  of  him  still  all  duly  stored, 

Those  citizens  who  raised  it  from  the  mass 
Of  ashes  left  by  Attila  the  dread, 
In  vain  had  spent  their  time  and  toil.     Alas  !  ^^ 

I  of  my  house  myself  my  gallows  made." 


CANTO  XIV 

The  Desert  of  Fiery  Sand — The  Violent  against  God — The 
Grand  Old  Form  in  Crete 

I,  FORASMUCH  as  lovc  for  my  dear  land 

Constrained  me,  gathered  up  the  scattered  leaves. 

And  gave  them  back  to  him,  who  hoarse  did  stand. 
Then  came  we  where  the  circle  third  receives 

Division  from  the  second  ;  there  we  saw  ^ 

The  dread  devices  righteous  Wrath  conceives. 
To  make  full  clear  those  matters  of  new  awe, 

I  say  that  we  had  reached  a  wide  waste  plain. 

Where  from  its  bed  no  plants  their  nurture  draw; 
The  dolorous  wood  engarlands  that  champaign,  '° 

E'en  as  that  wood  the  drear  fosse  hemmeth  in  ; 

There  stayed  we  on  the  borders  of  the  twain, 
All  sand,  deep,  dry,  and  fine  the  soil  within. 

No  other  in  its  kind  than  that  of  old 

Where  Cato's  footsteps  did  an  entrance  win.  ^^ 

image  on  their  coins  :  that  they  were  continually  engaged  in  wars,  foreign 
and  civil;  and  that  happily  there  was  yet  a  remnant  of  tVe  Mars  spirit 
among  them  to  counteract  their  Mammon-worship;  without  that,  with  all  its 
evils,  their  city  would  have  perished  utterly.  Comp.  Latini,  Tr<!s.  in  Ori.  p.  30. 

1  Comp.  C.  xjii.  143.  The  unnamed  soul  had  the  claims  of  a  fellow 
citizen. 

5  The  sin  now  in  view  is  that  of  the  violent  against  God,  the  sin  of  oijen 
blasphemy  and  defiance,  of  whom  Capaneus  is  the  only  representative 
instance. 

15  Dante  refers  to  the  history  of  Cato's  march  through  the  Libyan  desert, 
as  given  in  hij  favourite  Lucan  {Phars.  ix.  379-497). 

99 


HELL  CANTO  XIV 

Vengeance  of  God  !  what  fear  of  thee  should  hold 
The  soul  of  every  man  who  readeth  here 
That  which  these  eyes  of  mine  did  then  behold  ! 

Large  herds  of  naked  spirits  saw  I  there, 

Who  wailed  their  evil  fate  full  piteously,  '^ 

And  each  a  different  sentence  seemed  to  bear. 

Supine  upon  the  ground  one  group  did  lie, 
Another  sat  all  gathered  up  and  squat, 
A  third  unceasing  to  and  fro  did  ply. 

The  greater  part  thus  moving  had  their  lot,  ^ 

The  fewest  those  who  in  their  torments  lay. 
But  for  their  grief  a  looser  tongue  had  got. 

And  over  all  the  sand  a  falling  spray 

Showered  rain  of  flakes  of  ever-spreading  flame. 
Like  snow  upon  the  Alps  on  windless  day.  '° 

E'en  so  when  Alexander's  armies  came 
To  India's  torrid  climes,  upon  his  host 
The  fire-showers  fell,  and  earth  received  the  same  ; 

And  so  his  troops  he  sent  o'er  all  the  coast 

To  plough  it  up,  because  the  fiery  rain  ^ 

Left  to  itself  was  better  quenched  and  lost. 

19  This  is  the  first  mention,  since  C.  iii.  loo,  of  the  na1<edness  of  the  lost 
souls,  but  the  fact  must  be  assumed  throughout. 

22-24  The  three  Unes  indicate  the  three  grades  of  evil,  each  with  its  own 
appropriate  penalty.  Those  who  had  defied  Heaven  lie  prostrate  on  the 
earth  with  upturned  faces  ;  the  usurers  sit  as  they  used  to  sit  of  old, 
crouching  over  their  money-counters  ;  the  sinners  against  nature  are 
tormented  by  the  same  restless  impulses  as  those  whom  he  had  seen,  as  in 
C.  V.  31,  suffering  the  doom  of  a  less  hateful  form  of  sensual  evil,  but  under 
far  more  terrible  conditions.  They  had  "burnt"  in  their  lusts  before,  now 
they  are  punished  by  the  fiery  rain.     Comp.  Gen.  xix.  24. 

30  Another  trace  of  distant  wanderings,  probably  on  the  journey  to  Aries, 
implied  in  C.  ix.  112,  or  to  Paris  (Par.  x.  136).  The  word  "Alp"  is  pro- 
bably to  be  taken  in  its  widest  sense,  of  any  lofty  mountain. 

31  The  tradition  is  found  in  a  letter  purporting  to  be  written  by  Alexander 
to  Aristotle,  given  by  Albertus  Magnus  and  Benv.  da  Imola.  The  latter 
narrates  two  perils,  one  from  a  tremendous  snowstorm  which  threatened  to 
cover  the  whole  camp,  so  that  Alexander  gave  orders  to  his  troops  to  tread 
it  down  by  constant  marching  :  the  other  from  falling  flames  of  fire,  against 
vuhich  they  protected  themselves  with  their  clothes.  Dante  apparently 
niixes  up  the  two  facts  in  his  memory  {Scart.). 

100 


HELL  CANTO  XIV 

So  fell  the  eternal  burning  on  the  plain, 

And  so  the  sand  was  set  on  fire,  and  glowed, 
Like  tinder  'neath  the  steel,  so  doubling  pain. 

Unceasing  still  their  restless  gestures  showed,  *" 

Of  wretched  hands,  on  left  side  and  on  right, 
Still  flinging  off  the  ever-burning  load. 

I  then  began  :  "O  Master,  thou  whose  might 
Prevails  o'er  all  except  those  demons  stern. 
Who  at  the  gateway's  entrance  met  our  sight,  *^ 

Who  is  that  great  one  who  scarce  cares  to  turn 
Back  from  the  fire,  and  lies  in  scornful  pride. 
So  that  the  rain  scarce  seems  his  flesh  to  burn  ? " 

And  then  that  same  one,  who  had  quick  descried 
That  I  had  asked  my  Guide  about  his  name,  ^ 

"What  I  was  living,  dead  now  am  I,"  cried. 

"  Though  Jove  should  weary  out  his  craftsman  lame, 
From  whom  in  wrath  his  thunderbolt  he  bare. 
Smitten  by  which,  to  my  last  day  I  came, 

And  weary  out,  in  turn,  the  others  there,  ^ 

At  Mongibello  in  their  smithy's  gloom. 
Crying,  'Good  Vulcan,  help,  O  help  us,  hear  !  '— 

E'en  as  he  did  at  Phlegra's  field  of  doom, — 
And  hurled  his  darts  at  me  with  all  his  might. 
No  joy  of  vengeance  should  his  soul  illume."  *• 

Then  spake  my  Guide,  voice  raised  to  such  a  height. 
That  never  so  till  then  I  heard  him  speak, 
"  O  Capaneus,  because  thy  pride  and  spite 

*>  The  word  used  for  "  game  "  (iresca)  seems  to  have  been  specially  u?ed 
of  a  NeapoHtan  pantomimic  dance,  in  which  hands  and  feet  were  in  per- 
petual movement.     A  cognate  verb  is  found  in  Purg.  x.  65. 

56  Vulcan,  who  was  cast  into  Hell  by  Jupiter  for  having  forged  his 
thunderbolts  for  his  enemies,  and  who  gave  his  name  to  the  Volcano 
of  ^Etna,  where  he  and  his  workmen,  the  Cyclops,  were  said  to  be  im- 
prisoned— 

"  Vulcani  domus  et  Vukania  nomine  teUus."—ALtt.  viii.  416. 
Mongibello,  a  Sicilian  name  for  j^itna,   was  probably  a  corruption  of  the 
Italian  Monte  and  the  Arabic  Z>yci^<:/(  =  mountain). 

58  Phlegr.a,  in  Thessaly,  the  scene  of  the  war  of  the  Titans,  who  fought 
against  Jupiter  and  were  smitten  by  him. 

63  Capaneus,  one  of  the  "  Seven  against  Thebes  "  of  iEschylus  {S.  c.  Th.) 
10 1- 


HELL  CANTO  XIV 

Are  still  unquenched,  more  torments  on  thee  break  ; 
All  anguish,  but  thine  own  exceeding  rage,  ^ 

Would  for  thy  wrath  be  penalty  too  weak." 

Then  with  a  voice  whose  tones  he  did  assuage. 
He  turned  and  said,  "  This  man  was  of  the  Seven 
Who  Thebes  besieged,  and  waged,  and  yet  doth  wage. 

Fierce  war  'gainst  God,  and  little  cares  for  Heaven  ;  ""^ 
But,  as  I  said  to  him,  his  passion's  heat 
To  him  fit  badge  for  such  a  heart  is  given. 

Now  follow  me,  and  set  not  thou  thy  feet 

Where  the  sand  burneth  hot,  thy  way  to  wend. 
But  ever  near  the  woodland  seek  retreat."  '^ 

Silent  we  passed  to  where  the  waters  send 
Forth  from  the  wood  a  tiny  rivulet. 
Whose  crimson  hue  still  sets  my  hair  on  end. 

As  flows  the  stream  at  Bulicame  met. 

Which  sinful  women  then  at  will  divide,  * 

Down  through  the  sand  that  river's  course  was  set. 

Its  bottom  and  steep  banks  on  cither  side 

And  margins  broad  were  made  throughout  of  stone, 
Whence  I  discerned  the  pass  must  there  be  tried. 

"  Of  all  the  rest  that  I  to  thee  have  shown  * 

Since  we  our  entrance  found  within  the  gate 
Whose  open  threshold  is  denied  to  none. 

Ne'er  by  thine  eyes  was  seen  a  wonder  great 
And  notable  as  is  this  river  here. 
Which  all  the  flamelets  doth  annihilate."  ** 

420)  and  Euripides  (Phien.  1179).  Danle  probably  drew  his  knowledee 
from  Statius  {Theb.  x.  821).  The  thought  expressed  in  1.  65  imphes  the 
profound  truth  that  sin  is  its  own  worst  punishment. 

80  Bulicame,  a  mineral  spring  near  Viterbo  (Gregory  IX.  had  gone  there 
as  a  patient  just  before  his  death  in  1241,  Kin^ion,  ii.  254),  the  baths  of 
which  were  frequented,  as  such  places  commonly  were  (hence  the  secondary 
meaning  of  bagnio),  hy  women  of  ill-fame.  Ciampi  {Munic.  Ital.  Rome, 
1865)  quotes  a  curious  edict  ot  the  commune  of  Viterbo  in  1464,  ordering 
these  women  to  keep  to  Bulicame,  and  not  to  come  into  the  town  {Start.). 
The  ruins  of  the  bath  of  Ser  Paolo  Benigno  still  stand  between  Bulicame 
and  the  town  {Barlow,  p.  129).  The  description  implies  that  the  stream 
Dpwed  through  an  artificial  channel  into  the  estabUshment,  and  was  thence 


HELL  CANTO  XIV 

These  words  my  Master  whispered  in  mine  ear. 

Therefore  I  prayed  that  he  would  grant  the  food 

For  which  he  granted  appetite  to  hear. 
"  In  the  mid-sea  there  lies  in  solitude," 

He  spake,  "  an  island  waste  men  know  as  Crete,      ®* 

Under  whose  king  the  world  in  pureness  stood. 
A  mountain  rises,  once  the  pleasant  seat 

Of  streams  and  bowers,  by  Ida's  name  it  goes  ; 

A  desert  now,  as  something  obsolete. 
That  mount,  as  cradle  safe,  once  Rhea  chose  '"" 

For  her  young  child,  and,  better  to  conceal, 

Whene'er  he  cried,  great  shoutings  round  him  rose. 
The  mountain  depths  an  old  man's  form  reveal. 

Which  turns  its  back  on  Damietta  old 

And  still  to  Rome,  as  mirror,  makes  appeal.  ^^ 

Its  head  is  fashioned  all  of  purest  gold. 

Of  silver  pure  its  arms  are,  and  its  breast  ; 

Then  to  the  loins  brass  doth  its  form  enfold, 

distributed  in  the  baths.  The  rivulet  which  is  compared  to  Bulicame  is 
Phlegeihon,  the  fiery  river  of  ^n.  vi.  551. 

94-130  Xhe  episode  is  the  first  instance  in  the  Comm.  of  a  distinctly  histo- 
rical symbolism,  after  the  manner  of  the  visions  of  Daniel  (li.-iv.)  and  St. 
John,  and  embodies  the  poet's  thoughts  of  a  philosophy  of  history.  Crete 
IS  named  as  the  cradle  of  the  Trojan  {^n.  iii.  105),  and  therefore  of  the 
Roman  people  {/En.  iii.  104),  and  was  occupied  in  Dante's  time  by  the  Vene- 
tians. The  king  is  the  Saturn  of  the  Golden  Age  (yEn.  viii.  319).  Saturn 
(symbol  perhaps  of  time)  devours  his  children,  and  Rhea  (  =  Cybele  =  the 
Earth-Goddess)  sends  her  new-born  son  (Jupiter)  to  a  cavern  of  Mount  Ida, 
where  her  priests,  the  Curetes,  drown  the  child's  cries  with  their  shouts  and 
cymbals.  The  "  grand  old  form  "  is  the  symbol  of  the  ideal  of  universal 
history  as  seen  in  the  Roman  Empire.  He  looks  away  from  Damietta  on 
the  eastern  border  of  Egypt,  i.e.,  westward,  for  that,  from  the  poet's  stand- 
point, is  the  direction  of  human  progress.  Possibly  there  is  a  side-glance  at 
the  fact  that  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  in  which  Damietta  had  played  so 
prominent  a  part,  is  now  over,  and  that  the  work  of  the  Empire  now  lay 
in  the  West  rather  than  the  East  (Osan.  108).  He  looks  towards  Rome  as 
a  mirror,  for  it  is  there  only,  as  Dante  thought,  as  the  seat  of  a  true  Empire 
and  a  true  Church,  that  his  ideal  of  monarchy  could  be  realised  (Man.  ii.  ; 
Conv.  iv.  s).  For  another  apocalyptic  vision  of  the  same  type,  comp.  Pure. 
xxxii.  There  was  another  Damietta  in  Syria  near  Acre,  which  was  destroyed 
by  the  Egyptians  in  the  age  of  the  Crusades,  but  the  question  which  of  the 
two  Dante  meant  does  not  affect  the  symbolism. 

106  Xhe  form  of  the  symbolism  comes  from  Dan.  ii.  31-33,  but  the  inter- 
pretation is  different.  Here  we  have,  not  the  succession  of  monarchies,  but 
the  classical  ntythos  of  the  four  ages   of  gold,  and  silver,  and  bronze,  and 


HELL  CANTO  XIV 

Then  downward  choicest  iron  is  all  the  rest, 

Save  that  the  right  foot  is  of  kiln-baked  clay,  "" 

And  his  chief  weight  upon  that  foot  is  pressed. 

Each  part,  the  gold  excepted,  doth  display 
A  fissure,  whence  flow  ever-dripping  tears. 
Which,  gathering,  through  that  cavern  pierce  their 
way. 

From  rock  to  rock  the  stream  this  valley  nears,  ^'* 

And  Acheron  forms,  an-d  Styx,  and  Phlegethon, 
And  hence  down  through  this  narrow  sluice  careers. 

Till  it  arrives  where  more  descent  is  none, 
And  forms  Cocytus.     What  that  pool  may  be 
Thyself  shalt  see — more  needs  not  now  be  shown."  '^° 

And  I  to  him  :  "  This  streamlet  that  we  see, 
Why,  if  it  floweth  from  our  world  above, 
Qn  this  bank  only  shows  it  visibly  ?  " 

And  he  to  me  :   "  Thou  know'st  that  thou  dost  move 
As  circling  round,  and,  far  though  thou  hast  sped,  '^ 
Still  to  the  left  down-sloping,  as  wc  rove. 

Not  yet  hast  thou  the  whole  encompassed  ; 

Wherefore,  if  thou  see'st  things  all  strange  and  new. 
No  wonder  need  upon  thy  face  be  read." 

iron,  as  Dante  found  them,  e.g.,  in  Ovid  (Mttam.  i.  89-150).  But  again  he 
has  an  interpretation  of  his  own.  As  interpreted  by  Com',  iv.  5,  Mon.  i.  i6, 
his  golden  age  was  that  of  Augustus  ;  the  silver,  that  of  the  beginning  of 
the  decline  ind  fall  ;  the  third,  that  of  the  more  complete  decadence  which 
ended  in  the  division  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  empires.  The  legs  of  iron 
point  to  the  endless  wars  of  the  two  empires.  The  "right  foot"  of  clay  is 
the  Western  empire,  which  no  longer  rests  on  a  firm  foundation,  the  last 
hope  of  a  strong  empire  having  perished  with  the  Hohenstaufen  dynasty, 
but  on  the  crumbling  support  of  a  purely  selfish  policy,  leading,  as  it  did,  to 
corruption  in  both  Church  and  Empire,  and  to  internal  dissensions  in  every 
city  in  Italy.  That  seems  to  Dante  to  indicate  the  coming  crash,  perhaps 
the  end  of  the  world,  which  would  make  an  earthly  realisation  of  his  ideal 
impossible.  How  pas'-ionately  he  clings  to  that  ideal  we  may  see  by  his 
words  and  acts  when  the  arrival  of  Henry  VII.  seemed  for  a  short  time  to 
bring  it  within  a  measurable  distance  {Purg.  xxxiii.  42;  Par.  xvii.  82, 
xxvii.  63,  XXX.  137,  and  the  Epistles  in  Frat.  O.  M.  iii.  440-475). 

H2  One  notes  the  terrible  grandeur  of  the  symbol.  The  sorrows  and  the 
tears  of  men,  consequent  on  the  gradual  deterioration  of  the  Empire,  are 
the  source  from  which  flow,  one  out  of  the  other,  the  rivers  of  Hell,  the 
woes  of  the  condemned.  Cocytus,  as  the  river  of  wailing,  receives  them 
all. 

104 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

And  I  again  :  "  Where,  Master,  shall  I  view  **' 

Or  Phlegethon  or  Lethe  ?  for  of  this 
Thou  speakest  not,  and  say'st  the  other  drew 

Its  water  from  this  shower."     "  Each  question  is 
Pleasing  to  me,  but  of  that  crimson  tide," 
He  said,  "  thou  canst  not  well  the  meaning  miss  :   '^ 

Lethe  shall  meet  thine  eyes,  but  far  outside 

This  pit,  e'en  there  where  spirits  make  them  pure 
When  sins  repented  of  no  more  abide." 

Then  said  he,  "Now  'tis  time  we  should  secure 

Our  exit  from  the  wood  ;  behind  me  tread  ;  "" 

The  banks  which  are  not  burnt  give  footing  sure. 

And  here  above  them  every  flame  falls  dead." 


The  Sin  against  Nature — Brunetto  Latini 

Now  on  a  margin  firm  we  travel  o'er, 

And  the  stream's  vapour  so  the  heat  doth  slake, 
It  saves  from  fire  the  water  and  the  shore. 

E'en  as  'twixt  Bruges  and  Guizzant'  Flemings  make. 
Fearing  the  flood  that  on  their  sea-beach  rose,  ^ 

A  bank  whereon  the  ocean's  strength  may  break  ; 

130-138  The  question  implies  that  the  pilgrim  did  not  know  that  he  was  even 
now  actually  on  the  banks  of  Phlegethon  X^"-  vi.  550),  and  as  he  had  heard 
of  Lethe,  he  sought  to  know  where  that  was.  Undsrlymg  the  question  there 
are,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  thoughts  that  such  sin  as  that  with  which  he  was 
now  in  contact  is  set  on  fire  of  Hell ;  that  there  is  no  oblivion  in  the  lost. 
The  Lethe  of  forgetfulness  of  past  evil  comes  only  as  the  close  of  repentance 
and  purification.  Lethe  is  the  last  stage  of  the  poet's  purification  (furg. 
xxxi.  Id).     For  Acheron,  the  river  of  woes,  see  C.  iii.  78. 

4-9  Two  more  notes  of  the  extent  and  direction  of  Dante's  travels, 
(i)  Guiz2ante  has  been  identified  (a)  with  Ghent,  (b)  with  Cadsand,  about 
22  kilometres  of  Bruges  {FhiL),  or  (c)  with  Wissant,  15  kilometres  S.W.  of 
Calais  (JScart.),  between  Capes  Grisnez  and  Blancnez.  Villani  (xxi.  68) 
describes  a  Guizzante  in  terms  which  identify  it  with  the  latter.  In  Dante's 
time  Calais  and  Wissant  were  reckoned  as  belonging  to  Flanders  (Spruner, 
Atlas).  The  description  apparently  selects  the  two  termini  of  the  embank- 
ment. In  connection  with  Dante's  travels  the  passage  indicates  a  route 
105 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

Such  as  the  Paduans,  where  the  Brenta  flows. 
Construct,  their  towns  and  castles  to  protect. 
Ere  Chiarentana  with  the  warm  spring  glows. 

E'en  such  in  form  did  he  this  bank  erect,  ^"^ 

Though  not  like  these  in  width,  nor  yet  in  height, 
Whate'er  it  be,  the  Master-Architect. 

Already  was  the  forest  out  of  sight  ; 

So  far  from  it  our  footsteps  now  were  set. 
That  even  had  I  turned,  'twere  vanished  quite,         ^^ 
When  soon  a  troop  of  wandering  souls  we  met. 
Who  by  the  bank's  side  moved,  and  every  one 
Looked  at  us  as  men  look  at  eve  when  yet 

The  young  moon's  crescent  in  the  heaven  is  shown. 
And  so  upon  us  they  their  eyebrows  bent  ^ 

As  tailor  old  at  needle's  eye  doth  frown. 

By  such  a  tribe  espied,  with  glance  intent 
I  was  by  one  identified,  who  took 
My  mantle's  hem  and  cried,  "  What  wonderment !  " 

And  I,  when  he  his  arm  towards  rae  shook,  '■^ 

From  bringing  him  to  recognition  clear, 
I  was  not  hindered  by  his  scorched  look, 

taken  from  Cologne  (C.  xxiii.  62)  to  Bruges  and  Wissant,  and  thence  by 
Dover  to  London  and  Oxford  (see  note  on  C.  xii.  120).  Wissant,  the  harbour 
of  which  is  now  choked  up  and  disused,  was  in  the  12th  and  13th  centuries 
the  usual  port  of  embarkation  for  England  (Rule,  Li/e  of  Anseim,  i.  227,  ii. 
166,  232,  303).  Its  neighbourhood  abounds  in  remains  of  fortifications  and 
embankments  raised  on  natural  dunes.  It  has  been  identified  with  the 
Partus  Itius  of  Caesar  (Joanne,  Art.  Wissant),  Gui.  Pis.  in  loco.  (2)  The 
second  illustration  is  taken  from  the  more  familiar  scene  of  Padua,  and  the 
Brenta  which  flows  through  it.  That  river,  liable  to  inundations  from  the 
melting  snows  of  Chiarentana,  now  known  as  Carenzana,  a  mountain  ridije 
in  the  Trcntino,  between  Valvignota  and  Valfronte,  on  its  left  bank,  had 
been  carefully  embanked  by  the  Paduans,  to  protect  their  fields  (Scart. ). 
By  others,  with  less  probability,  Chiarentana  has  been  identified  with 
Carynthia. 

12  The  meaning  often  given  to  the  words  "  whoe'er  he  be  "  is  inconsistent 
with  C.  iii.  5.  There  was  no  doubt  in  Dante's  mind  as  to  who  had  made  Hell. 
What  he  leaves  in  doubt  is  the  precise  degree  of  likeness  to  the  embank- 
ments near  Bruges  and  Padua. 

16  The  wandering  souls  are  those  who  have  sinned  against  nature  in  the 
sin  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain. 

18  The  two  similitudes  are  characteristically  out  of  the  range  of  poetic 
elegance.     What  was  wanted  was  the  picture   of  the   "screwed  up"  look 
of  iutent  curiosity,  and  this  they  gave  as  nothing  else  could  do. 
106 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

But  thought  my  mind  a  knowledge  gained  full  clear. 
And  bending  down  my  hand  toward  his  face, 
I  asked,  "What,  Ser  Brunetto,  art  thou  here  ?  "        ^ 

And  he  :  "  My  son,  ah,  think  it  no  disgrace, 
If  I,  Brunetto,  with  thee  backward  stray, 
And,  for  a  moment,  quit  the  rabble  base." 

I  answered,  "  This  with  all  my  power  I  pray  ; 

And  if  thou  wilt  that  I  should  sit  with  thee,  ^ 

I  will,  if  he  please,  for  I  go  his  way." 

"  My  son,"  he  said,  "  who  in  this  company 
A  moment  stops,  lies  there  a  hundred  year. 
No  screen  against  the  smiting  fire  has  he  ; 

30  Of  all  the  names  with  which  we  meet  in  Dante's  Hell,  this  is  probably 
that  which  we  are  most  pained  to  find  there.  Brunetto  Latini  had  been  the 
poet's  teacher,  had  led  him  step  by  step  out  of  the  routine  of  education  to 
a  higher  wisdom,  had  taught  him  how  man  becomes  eternal  in  the  know- 
ledge of  God  or  the  eternity  of  fame,  had  been  kind,  benignant,  fatherly  in 
look  and  tone  ;  and  yet  here  he  stands  for  ever  branded  with  the  mark  of 
infamy.  Could  not  the  poet,  we  are  tempted  to  ask,  have  spared  us  this  ? 
What  impelled  him  to  so  fierce  a  condemnation,  for  which  no  writer,  save 
Dante  himself,  gives  any  warrant?  To  answer  that  question  we  must  go 
back  in  thought  to  the  moment  when  Dante  discovered  his  master's  guilt, 
when,  throuuh  common  fame  or  direct  knowledge,  he  first  learnt  to  see  that 
he  was  as  a  "  whiled  sepulchre"  full  of  all  uncleanness.  Looking  back  to 
the  fiery  indignation,  the  burning  shame  of  that  moment,  looking  to  the 
prevalence  of  like  vices  in  the  class  to  which  his  master  had  belonged,  he 
could  not  gloss  over  his  guilt  or  bury  it  in  silence.  His  name,  and  none 
other,  was  to  teach  that  none  but  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God,  and  that 
no  gifts  of  genius,  no  kindlinessof  nature,  will  avail  to  save  the  impure,  who 
have  died  impenitent,  from  condemnation. 

The  story  of  Brunetto  Latini  may  be  briefly  told.  Born  circ.  1220,  he 
soon  took  his  place  among  the  scholars  of  tlie  earlier  Renaissance,  trans- 
lated from  Cicero  and  Sallust,  became  a  leading  person  among  the  Florentine 
Guelphs,  and  was  made  notary,  or  secretary,  of  the  commune.  After  the 
battle  of  Montaperti  he  was  banished  with  the  other  Guelphs  (C.  x.  48),  and 
retired  to  Paris.  Probably  during  his  stay  there  he  wrote  his  Tr^sor,  a  kind 
of  encyclopaedia  of  mediaeval  knowledge,  in  French.  He  returned  to 
Florence  circ.  1269,  and  died  in  1294,  having  had  both  Dante  and  Guido 
Cavalcanti  (Veiini,  De  Vir.  Illust.  ii.)  as  his  pupils.  During  this  period  he 
probably  wrote  his  Tesoretto,  a  didactic  poem  in  Italian,  noticeable  as  con- 
taining (i)  the  confession  that  he  and  those  like  him  might  be  described  as 
"  «»  poco  niondanetti"  (Villani  (viii.  10)  describes  him  as  "  uomo  tnon- 
dano";  and  the  use  of  the  feminine  ^' motidana"  z.%  =  ineretrice,  shows  the 
connotation  of  the  adjective),  (2)  a  strong  denunciation  of  the  sin  for  which 
he  is  here  punished.  A  work  of  a  singularly  foul  character,  //  Pataffio,  has 
been  ascribed  to  him,  but  critics  seem  agreed  that  this  is  of  later  date.  It 
may  be  noted  further,  (i)  that  Brunetto  had  translated  some  of  the  ethical 
and  physical  treatises  of  Aristotle  ;  (2)  that  he  w«s  sent  on  an  embassy  to 
Alphonso  of  Castile  in  1260.  Translations  of  Ovid  and  Boethius  into  Italian 
are  also  ascribed  to  him  (Weg.  51,  65  ;  Ozan.  54).     Comp.  Ort,  pp.  125-170, 

^1*  The  penalty  of  C.  xiv.  40  did  not  exclude  this  partial  defence. 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

Wherefore  go  on  ;  thy  skirts  I'll  follow  near,  * 

And  then  will  I  rejoin  my  comrades'  host, 
Who  wail  their  endless  doom  with  ceaseless  tear." 

I  dared  not  leave  the  pathway  of  that  coast 
To  be  beside  him,  but  I  bowed  my  head, 
As  one  whose  mind  in  reverent  thought  is  lost,         ^^ 

And  he  began,  "  What  fate  or  fortune  dread 
Before  the  last  day  brings  thee  here  below  ? 
And  who  is  this  by  whom  thy  steps  are  led  r  " 

"  Up  there  above,  where  life  serene  we  know," 

I  said,  "  I  in  a  valley  lost  did  stray,  ^ 

Ere  that  my  age  its  fulness  ripe  did  show. 

But  yestermorn  I  bent  my  steps  away. 
And,  as  I  turned  me,  he  appeared  to  me. 
And  leads  me  homeward  by  this  weary  way." 

And  he  to  me  :  "  If  thy  star  guideth  thee,  " 

Thou  canst  not  fail  a  glorious  port  to  gain, 
If  in  yon  fairer  life  I  truth  did  see  ; 

And  but  that  1  by  death  too  soon  was  ta'en. 
Beholding  Heaven  towards  thee  so  benign, 
I  for  thy  work  had  strengthened  thee  again  :  ^ 

But  that  ungrateful  people  and  malign. 
Which  came  in  ancient  days  from  Fiesole, 
And  of  its  rock  and  millstone  still  shows  sign, 

*1  The  implied  thought  is  that  the  sinners  were  divided  into  special  com- 
panies, either  according  to  their  nationality  or  their  callings. 

50  The  phrase  refers  to  C.  i.  25,  and  has  besides  the  interest  of  reproducing 
one  of  Brunetto's  own  similitudes  in  the  opening  of  the  '!'esoretto.  The 
scholar,  as  of  old  reports  to  the  master  the  perplexities  in  which,  in  spite  of, 
or  because  of,  his  teaching,  he  had  found  himself  involved.  Comp.  Purg. 
xxxi.  34. 

53  Once  only  (C.  i.  79I  is  Virgil  named  in  the  Inferno.  Dante  avoids  the 
mention  of  his  name  in  Hell,  just  as  he  avoids  that  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  the 
Virgin  Mary. 

85  Brunetto,  like  other  astronomers  of  his  time,  believed  in  stellar  in- 
fluences, and  may  have  cast  Dante's  horoscope.  The  poet  was  born  under 
Gemini,  and  this  implied  the  gifts  of  genius  and  wisdom  (C.  xxvi.  23;  Par. 
xxii.  no).  The  words  seem  to  have  been  written  under  the  influence  of  a 
hope  which  remained  unfullilled,  unless,  indeed,  the  glorious  port  was 
either  a  deathless  fame,  or  a  yet  more  deathless  life. 

61  Fiesole,  in  Florentine  tradition,  was  the  oldest  city  in  the  world,  and 
had  been  destroyed  by  Julius  Csesar  and  by  Totila,  each  time  rising  from 
108 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

Will  for  thy  good  deeds  be  thine  enemy  ; 

And  reason  good  ;  for  'mid  the  sour  crab's  kind        *^ 
It  is  not  meet  the  sweet  fig's  fruit  to  see. 

On  earth  an  ancient  saying  calls  them  blind, 
A  people  envious,  avaricious,  proud  ; 
Take  heed  that  of  their  ways  thou  cleanse  thy  mind. 

Thy  fortune  hath  on  thee  this  boon  bestowed,  ™ 

That  either  faction  shall  thy  help  desire, 
But  'twixt  the  goat  and  grass  shall  be  long  road. 

There  let  the  beasts  of  Fiesole  their  byre 

Make  for  themselves,  nor  touch  the  nobler  grain, 
If  any  grow  upon  their  dunghill's  mire,  "* 

In  which  the  holy  seed  revives  again 

Of  those  old  Romans,  who,  when  it  was  made 
The  nest  of  evil,  still  did  there  remain." 

"Had  that  been  fully  given  me  which  I  prayed;" 
I  answered  him,  "  thou  had'st  not  here  as  yet  ** 

An  outlaw  from  our  nature's  lot  been  laid, 

its  ruins.  On  the  rebuilding  of  Florence  by  Charlemagne,  many  of  the 
Fiesolans  came  within  the  walls  of  the  city  and  mingled  with  the  older 
inhabitants  who  claimed  descent  from  Rome  {A'apier,  i.  c.  i,  2,  based  on 
Viil.  i.-iv.  ;  Malisp.  c.  42-50).  In  this  intermixture  Dante,  who  prided 
himself  on  his  nobler  Roman  blood  [Conv.  iv.  s),  saw  the  cause  of  all  the 
evils  which  had  brought  misery  on  his  city  and  himself. 

67  The  proverb  of  the  "  blind  Florentines,"  still  cxtajA  {Sca>  i .),  has  been 
referred  either  to  their  trusting  the  promises  of  Totila  (Viil.  ii.  i)  or  their 
having  been  cheated  by  the  Pisans,  who  covered  with  crimson  cloth  two 
columns  of  porphyry  that  had  been  injured  by  fire  and  palmed  them  off  as 
new  (Bocc). 

71  The  prophecies  of  the  Conitnedta  reflect,  of  course,  the  poet's  view  of 
the  events  that  were  passing  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  them.  Here  we 
already  note  traces  of  the  policy  of  isolation,  the  parte  per  se  siesso  of  Par. 
xvii.  69,  mingled  with  the  thought,  which,  like  the  hope  of  C.  56,  was  never 
more  than  a  thought,  that  sooner  or  later  either  party  would  be  glad  to 
have  his  support  on  his  own  terms.  The  proverb  of  1.  72  is  like  that  of  "  the 
cup  and  the  lip."  The  parties  of  Florence  will  have  to  wait  some  time 
before  they  gain  their  ends.  The  "beasts  of  Fiesole"  are  Dante's  special 
enemies,  probably  therefore  the  Neri,  and  chief  among  them  the  house  of 
the  Donati. 

si-87  As  with  Farinata,  Dante  recognises  in  Brunetto  whatever  there  had 
been  of  good.  He  would  have  prayed  for  longer  life  for  him,  and  therefore 
for  repentance  ;  would  fain  have  met  his  master,  who  "had  died  and  made 
no  sign,"  in  Purgatory,  and  not  in  Hell.  He  could  never  forget  the 
presence  he  had  once  loved,  the  hours  in  which  he  had  felt  his  heart  bum 
within  him  in  longings  for  an  immortality  of  fame,  if  not  also  (for  the  words 
are  open  to  either  meaning)  for  the  higher  eternal  life.  There  may  be  a 
109 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

For  in  my  mind  and  heart  there  still  is  set 
That  face  of  thine,  kind,  tender,  fatherly, 
When  thou  didst  hourly  teach  me  as  we  met 

How  man  attaineth  to  eternity,  ^ 

And  how  for  that  I  thank  thee,  it  is  right. 
While  yet  I  live,  my  speech  should  witness  be. 

What  of  my  course  thou  tellest  me  I  write. 
And  keep  it,  with  another  text  to  spell. 
For  Her,  who'll,  if  I  reach  her,  read  aright.  ^ 

This  only  would  I  thee  full  clearly  tell. 
So  long  as  conscience  makes  me  not  afraid, 
I  wait  my  fortune,  work  it  ill  or  well. 

Not  strange  unto  mine  ears  such  pledge  is  made  ; 

Therefore  let  Fortune  turn  her  wheel  at  will,  *^ 

And  as  he  wills,  the  peasant  churl  his  spade." 

My  Master  thereupon  turned  round  until 

O'er  his  right  cheek  he  glanced,  and  looked  at  me, 
And  said,  "  He  listeneth  well  who  noteth  still." 

Not  therefore  speaking  less,  in  company  "" 

I  go  with  Ser  Brunetto,  and  ask  who  they 
His  comrades  were,  best  known,  of  chief  degree. 

And  he  :   "  Of  some  'tis  good  to  know  ;  well  may 
On  other  names  a  prudent  silence  fall  : 
For  the  full  tale  would  take  a  longer  day.  ^°^ 

special  reference  to  a  striking  passage  in  the  Tresor,  vi.  55,  in  which 
Brunetto  speaks  of  the  man  who  is  "  made  like  to  God  and  to  His  angels" 
as  leading  the  "noblest  life"  and  enjoying  the  only  true  blessedness. 

89  The  "other  text"  is  found  in  the  predictions  of  Ciacco  (C.  vi.  65-72) 
and  Farinata  (C.  x.  79-8  r).  All  these  partial  forecasts  the  pilgrim  has  learnt 
to  refer  to  the  fuller  insight  of  Beatrice. 

92-96  Xhe  mens  conscia  recti  which  Dante  feels  that  he  can  claim  finds  i's 
parallel  in  Par.  x\n.  24.  There  he  stands  "foursquare"  to  the  blows  of 
fate;  here,  with  the  parable  of  C.  vii.  96  in  his  thoughts,  he  bids  Fortune 
turn  her  wheel.  Comp.  yEn.  v.  710.  The  second  clause  of  1.  96  =  "let 
men  do  what  they  will ;  "  but  the  "  peasant  churl  "  is  probably  a  thrust  at 
one  of  the  "  beasts  of  Fiesole."    Comp.  1.  72. 

19"  Halting,  as  we  have  seen,  was  forbidden  (1.  38)  under  heaviest  penalties, 
which  Dante  would  not  knowingly  bring  on  his  old  master. 

193  Good  to  know  as  a  warning  to  those  who  were  yielding  to  like  vices, 
four  only  are  named  here,  three  more  in  C.  xvi. 
110 


HELL  CANTO  XV 

Know  then,  in  brief,  that  these  were  great  clerks  all. 
Great  men  of  letters  they  and  of  great  fame. 
Sunk,  while  on  earth,  in  that  sin's  shameful  thrall. 

Priscian  goes  there  with  all  his  troop  of  shame, 

Francesco  of  Accorso  too,  and  there,  "" 

If  thou  art  fain  such  scurf  to  know  and  name, 

Thou  see'st  him  whom  the  Servants'  Servant's  care 
From  Arno  to  Bacchiglione  moved. 
Where  he  has  left  the  members  sin  did  wear. 

More  would  I  tell,  but  longer  unreproved  "^ 

Nor  speech  nor  walk  may  be  ;  for  now  I  see 
New  smoke  from  out  the  sand  rise,  upward  moved  ; 

A  crowd  comes  on  with  whom  I  must  not  be  ; 
Only  to  thee  my  '  Treasure '  I  commend. 
There  I  still  live  ;  no  more  I  ask  of  thee."  '^ 

l**  The  evil  which  had  passed  from  the  Cities  of  the  Plain  to  the  Phcemcian 
Canaanites,  and  thence  to  the  Greeks,  and  so  on  to  the  Romans,  seems  never 
to  have  been  eradicated  from  the  life  of  Italy.  Frederick  II. 's  Court  at 
Palermo  was  said  to  have  been  tainted  with  it.  It  was  fostered,  of  course, 
by  the  compulsory  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  and  by  the  undisciplined  and  over- 
crowded life  of  the  teachers  and  scholars  at  all  European  universities. 
Roger  Bacon  {pomp.  Stud.  c.  2)  speaks  of  its  prevalence  in  Paris,  noting  by 
the  way  that  Louis  IX.  had  banished  many  foreign  teachers  as  guilty  of  it. 
It  was  the  prominent  charge  brought  against  the  Templars  by  Philip  le  Bel. 
Purvey,  in  the  preface  to  what  is  known  as  Wyklifs  Bible  (ed.  Forshall  and 
Madden),  mourns  over  its  prevalence  at  Oxford.  It  is  necessary  to  state 
these  facts  in  order  to  explain  the  emphasis  of  Dante's  warning  note. 

109  No  mention  of  this  fact  in  the  life  of  the  great  grammarian  (fl.  circ.  525) 
has  been  traced  by  commentators.  Possibly  Dante  may  have  followed  some 
tradition  now  lost,  or  taken  him  as  the  representative  of  a  class.  So  Pietro 
Dante  in  he. 

110  Francesco  d'Accorso  of  Florence,  the  son  of  one  of  the  great  expounders 
of  the  Roman  law  at  Bologna  (d.  1229),  was  himself  a  professor  in  that  city, 
and  wrote  a  commentary  on  the  Code  of  Justinian.  In  1273  he  followed 
Edward  I.,  who  passed  through  Bologna  on  his  return  from  Palestine,  to 
England,  and  for  six  years  taught  civil  law  at  Oxford.  In  1280  he  returned 
to  Bologna,  and  d.  1 294.  Dante  may  therefore  have  known  him  personally. 
Father  and  son  rest  in  a  sepulchre  still  extant  in  Bologna  (Scart.  ;  Kington, 
ii.  319).     He  was  noted  also  for  his  usury  (Ort.  p.  80). 

112  Here  we  have  a  glimpse  at  still  more  recent  history.  The  servus 
servorum  is  Boniface  VIII.,  whom  Dante  is  never  weary  of  branding  with 
the  note  of  infamy  (C.  xix.  53,  xxvii.  70).  The  criminal,  Andrea  de  Mozzi, 
Bishop  of  Florence  in  1287,  was  translated  to  Vicenza,  on  the  Bacchiglione, 
in  1295,  died  in  ^296,  and  was  buried  at  Florence  in  the  Church  of  S.  Gregory. 
Da-'te  apparently  knew  the  seamj*  side  of  his  life. 

11**  The  vanity  of  authorship  is  not  extinct  even  in  Hell.  Brunetto  finds 
comfort  in  the  thought  that  in  Dante's  visit  there  is  an  opening  for  an  adver- 
III 


HELL  CANTO  XVI 

Then  turned  he,  and  like  those  his  way  did  wend 

Who  at  Verona  for  the  mantle  green 

Scour  through  the  plain, — like  him  who  at  the  end 
As  winner,  not  as  loser,  there  is  seen. 


CANTO  XVI 

Guido  Guerra — Tegghiato — Rmticucci — The  Waterfall  of  the 
Dark  River — The  Cord  thrown  anoay 

Already  was  I  where  was  heard  the  din 
Of  water  falling  to  the  circle  near. 
Like  hum  of  bees  the  busy  hive  within, 

When  shadows  three  forth  starting  did  appear. 

With  haste  advancing  from  a  crowd  which  passed     ^ 
Beneath  the  rain  of  torture  sharp  and  drear  : 

And  each  one  cried,  as  they  drew  near  us  fast, 
"  Halt,  thou  who  seem'st  in  fashion  of  thy  dress 
To  have  thy  lot  in  our  corrupt  land  cast." 

tisement.  The  poet  obviously  remembered  many  instances  of  a  like  weakness, 
the  love  of  man's  praise  taking  the  place  of  that  of  the  praise  of  God.  For 
the  Tesoro  see  note  on  1.  32. 

122  Internal  evidence  that  the  canto  was  written  during,  or  after,  one  of 
the  poet's  visits  at  Verona.  The  games  were  instituted  in  memory  of  the 
victory  gained  by  Azzo  d'Este,  Podesta  of  Verona,  over  the  Counts  of  St. 
Bonifazio  and  Montecchi  in  1207.  They  were  held  on  the  first  Sunday  in 
Lent,  and  green  mantles  were  given  as  prizes  for  races  in  which  men  ran 
naked.  The  comparison  over  and  above  its  vividness  (the  souls  in  Dante's 
Hell  wear  no  garments)  may  convey  the  poet's  feeling  that  such  an  exhibition 
was  fitter  for  the  sinners  whom  Dante  had  described  (comp.  C.  xvi.  21)  than 
for  living  Christian  men.  The  whole  Canto  is,  it  must  be  owned,  terribly 
Juvenalian  in  its  subject-matter,  but  Dante  might  have  asked  with  Juvenal 
whether  there  was  not  a  cause  for  the  '^  steva  ittdignatio  "  which  he  utters 
in  it. 

1  The  sound  of  water  is  that  of  the  stream  that  falls  from  the  seventh 
circle  to  the  eighth,  as  in  1.  92-102. 

*  The  three  shadows  are  those  of  Guido  Guerra  0-  37)>  Tegghiaio  (1.  41X 
and  Rusticucci  (1.  44). 

8  The  special  distinctive  parts  of  the  Florentine  dress  were  the  mantle,  the 
hood,  and  the  biretta  (as  seen  in  Giotto's  portrait  of  Dante  in  the  Bargello), 
in  which  men  saw  the  survival  of  an  older  costume.     They,  the  descendants 
of  the  Romans,  were  still  theg^ens  ioeaia  of  Italy  (KiV/.  xii.  4). 
IIZ 


HELL  CANTO  XVI 

Ah  me  !  what  scars,  old,  new,  and  numberless,  '" 

The  burning  flames  on  all  their  limbs  had  made  ! 
E'en  to  remember  still  works  sore  distress. 

Unto  their  cries  good  heed  my  Master  paid. 

And  turned  his  face  to  me  and  spake  :   "  Now  hold  ! 
'Tis  meet  we  courteous  be  to  these,"  he  said  ;  ^* 

"  And  if  it  were  not  for  the  flames  that  fold 
The  region  all  around  us,  I  would  say 
Thy  steps,  not  theirs,  should  be  at  full  speed  told." 

Thus,  as  we  halted,  their  old  wailing  they 

Began  again,  and  when  they  near  us  drew,  ^" 

All  three  of  them  went  whirling  on  their  way. 

As  wrestlers  stripped  and  oiled  are  wont  to  do. 
Watching  for  vantage  where  they  best  may  seize, 
Ere  they  with  blows  and  thrusts  the  fight  pursue. 

Then  wheeling  round,  his  visage  each  of  these  ^ 

So  turned  toward  me,  that  his  neck  did  take 
Another  course  than  that  his  feet  did  please. 

"O  if  the  torture  of  this  deep  pit  wake 
Scorn  in  thy  soul  of  us  and  of  our  prayer," 
Then  one  began,  "and  dark,  scorched  features  make  ^ 

Thee  shrink,  our  fame  may  yet  prevail  to  share 
The  knowledge  who  thou  art  whose  living  feet 
Through  paths  of  Hell  so  safely  seem  to  fare. 

He  in  whose  footprints  now  I  follow  fleet. 

Though  naked  now  he  go  and  scorched  all  bare,       ^ 
Had  higher  birth  than  would  thy  credence  meet. 

Grandson  he  was  to  good  Gualdrada  fair  ; 
His  name  was  Guido  Guerra,  and  from  birth 
With  mind  and  sword  he  wrought  his  own  full  share. 

12  We  note,  as  in  C.  v.  139,  the  poet's  compassion  for  the  sinners  while  he 
loathes  the  sin.  That  men  who  might  have  risen  so  high,  should,  through 
that  one  fault,  have  sunk  so  low,  there  was  "  the  pity  of  it." 

15  Courtesy,  due  to  the  three  as  having  been,  apart  from  the  sin  which 
placed  them  where  they  were,  men  worthy  of  honour  and  of  high  repute. 
Comp.  C.  59,  and  C.  vi.  79-81. 

22  The  simile  probably  connects  itself  with  the  games  at  Verona  that  had 
furnished  the  comparison  of  C.  xv.  122. 

37  Gualdrada,  daughter  of  Bellincione  Berti  (comp.  Par.  xv.  112,  xvi.  99), 
"3  H 


HELL  CANTO  XVI 

The  other  who  beside  me  treads  the  earth  ** 

Was  Aldobrandi  Tegghiaio  named  ; 
High  in  the  world  should  still  resound  his  worth. 

And  I,  who  with  them  am  thus  pained  and  shamed, 
Jacopo  Rusticucci  was  ;  and  know, 
My  haughty  wife  was  chiefly  to  be  blamed."  ** 

Could  I  have  found  some  fire-screened  way  to  go, 
I  had  myself  below  among  them  thrown, 
And  think  my  Teacher  had  not  said  me  No  ; 

But  lest  I  too  as  burnt  and  baked  should  run, 

My  terror  overmastered  my  goodwill,  ^ 

That  made  me  eager  to  embrace  each  one. 

Then  I  began  :  "  Not  scorn,  but  sorrow  still, 
So  fixed  your  sad  condition  in  my  mind, 
That  slowly  ceaseth  it  my  thoughts  to  fill. 

Soon  as  my  Master  here  had  cause  assigned,  ^* 

In  words  which  quickly  made  me  deem  that  you 
Who  came  were  of  such  worth  as  now  I  find. 

was  one  of  the  heroines  of  Florentine  tradition.  When  the  Emperor  Otho  IV. 
(1209-15)  came  to  Florence,  admired  her  beauty,  and  wished  to  kiss  her,  she 
answered  that  she  would  grant  that  privilege  to  none  but  her  husband.  Otho 
honoured  her  for  her  boldness,  and  gave  her  in  marriage  to  Count  Guide 
Guerra(K27/.  v.  37).  Her  grandson,  the  Guido  Guerra  whom  Dante  sees, 
had  been  captain  of  the  Guelph  army  of  Florence  in  1255,  and  tried  to 
dissuade  the  Florentines  from  the  expedition  against  Arezzo  which  ended  in 
the  disaster  of  Montaperti,  after  which  he  was  banished  with  Dante's  father 
and  the  other  Guelphs,  returning  with  them  after  the  victory  of  Charles  of 
Anjou  over  Manfred  (1267).  The  Florentine  historians  speak  of  him  as  wise, 
noble,  generous.  He  had  no  children,  and  left  his  estates  to  the  Commune 
{yUL  vi.  61,  77,  vii.  Q  ;  Malisp.  c.  185-187).  Dante  must  be  assumed  to  have 
known  personally  what  the  historians  pass  over  in  silence  ;  the  same  holds 
good  of  Tegghiaio,  of  the  family  of  the  Adimari,  who  had  joined  Guido  Guerra 
in  his  counsels  of  prudence  before  Montaperti  (/V//.  vi.  77  ;  Malisp.  c.  170). 

■*5  The  words  point  to  a  tale  of  misery  and  shame  which  commentators 
illustrate  by  stories  that  are  better  left  untold.  What  has  to  be  reinembered 
is  that  the  kindred  and  the  friends  of  those  of  whom  Dante  wrote  such  things 
were  still  living  in  Florence,  and  that  every  name  thus  named  by  him  must 
have  made  a  hundred  enemies.  And,  as  the  words  that  follow  show,  he  had 
no  spite  against  the  men,  would  fain  havfe  done  them  honour,  thrown  in  his 
lot  with  them  for  a  time,  acknowledged  the  goodness  and  greatness  of  their 
lives  as  citizens,  and  records  extenuating  circumstances.  What  he  did  he 
■was  compelled  to  do  as  the  prophet  of  God's  judgments,  bearing  witness  that 
no  gifts  or  noble  deeds  can  save  the  victim  of  impure  desires.  To  preach 
that  vaguely  would  have  fallen  on  deaf  ears.  What  was  wanted  was  to 
name  the  men,  as  prophets  of  old  had  named  those  whom  they  condemned 
{Jer.  xxii.  11,  18,  24,  xxviii.  15,  xxix.  31). 
114 


HELL  CANTO  XVf 

Your  countryman  am  I  ;  with  reverence  due 

Your  deeds  and  names,  that  honour  well  may  suit, 
I  evermore  of  old  both  heard  and  knew  ;  ^ 

I  leave  the  gall  and  seek  the  pleasant  fruit, 
Which  my  true  Leader  promiseth  to  me, 
But  first  I  must  plunge  down  to  earth's  deep  root." 

"As  thou  wouldst  have  thy  soul  live  long  to  be 

Thy  body's  guide,"  to  roe  was  answer  given,  ^ 

"  And  thy  high  fame  shine  long  years  after  thee, 

Valour  and  courtesy,  say,  have  they  thriven 
Within  our  city  as  they  used  of  old. 
Or  have  they  into  exile  both  been  driven  ? 

For  Guglielmo  Borsier,  who  doth  hold,  '"* 

New-come,  his  place  of  torment  with  his  train. 
Much  grieves  our  soulswithwhat  hiswords  have  told." 

"  The  upstart  race  and  over-rapid  gain 
Have  so  given  birth  to  pride  and  luxury 
In  thee,  Firenze,  that  thou  weep'st  for  pain."  ^^ 

So  I  exclaimed  with  face  upturned  on  high, 

And  then  the  three,  with  look  as  those  that  hear 
The  truth,  so  looked  on  hearing  that  reply. 

"If  thou  dost  elsewhere  pay  no  price  more  dear," 
Replied  they  all,  "  to  grant  what  others  pray,  ** 

Happy  art  thou,  who  canst  at  will  speak  clear  ; 

If  then  from  this  dark  world  thou  take  thy  way, 
And  turn  once  more  the  beauteous  stars  to  spy. 
When  thou  'I  have  been  there  !  '  shalt  joy  to  say, 

81  The  "  gall  "  may  be  either  that  of  the  misery  of  C.  i.  i-6  or  the  vices  of 
those  from  whom  he  is  now  parting. 

''"  Borsier,  a  native  of  Genoa,  who  had  settled  in  Florence,  and  of  whom 
Boccaccio  (Decam.  G.  i,  Nov.  8)  tells  some  humorous  stories  hardly  worth 
repeating,  had  died  in  extreme  old  age  in  1300,  but  a  month  or  two  before 
the  assumed  date  of  the  poem.  Hence  the  "  new-come."  He  had  brought 
to  the  men  of  the  p'^polo  vecchio  the  report  of  the  vices  of  the  pofiolo  nuovo, 
with  their  quick  and  ill-gotten  gains,  their  luxury  and  pride,  of  whom  the 
Cerchi  were  the  chief  representatives. 

83  A  reminiscence  of  yEn.  i.  204 — 

"  Fersan  et  heec  olim  meminisse  j'uvabit." 
The  "beauteous  stars"  and  the  survival  of  the  love  of  fame  are  character- 
istic touches  (C.  XV.  119,  xxxiv.  139). 

i'5 


HELL  CANTO  XVI 

Still  keep  us  in  our  people's  memory."  ^ 

The  circle  then  they  broke,  and  legs  less  slow 
Did  seem  than  wings,  so  swiftly  did  they  fly. 

Not  sooner  from  our  lips  "Amen  "  could  flow 
Than  they  in  that  far  distance  disappeared  ; 
Wherefore  my  Master  deemed  it  best  to  go.  ^ 

I  followed  him,  and  soon  a  spot  we  neared, 
Where  sound  of  falling  waters  came  so  hoarse. 
That  when  we  spake  our  voices  scarce  were  heard. 

E'en  as  that  stream  which  takes  its  separate  course, 
And  from  Mount  Veso  eastward  first  doth  flow,       "^ 
And  down  the  Apennino's  left  slope  pours. 

Which  men  above  as  Acquacheta  know, 
Ere  it  rush  down  into  its  torrent  bed, 
And  lose  that  name  at  Forli  far  below. 

Above  San  Benedetto  murmurs  dread  ^^ 

From  Alps,  whence  it  in  single  leap  doth  run. 
Where  should  be  room  for  full  a  thousand  head  ; 

Thus  headlong,  from  a  bank  or  broken  down. 
We  heard  those  waters  dark  so  loudly  roar. 
That  soon  they  had  had  power  our  ears  to  stun.       '"" 

I  had  a  cord  which  round  my  waist  I  wore. 
And  with  it  once  of  old  I  thought  to  take 
The  panther  with  its  skin  all  dappled  o'er  ; 

86  The  "wheel"  is  that  described  in  I.  21.  The  three  naked  forms  that 
had  been  intertwined  limb  with  limb  now  pursue  their  way  on  their  never- 
ending  round. 

9*  The  reminiscences  of  travel  are  fuller  and  more  vivid  than  usual. 
Monteveso  is  one  of  the  Northern  Apennines.  The  Acquacheta  is  the  first 
stream  that  flows  into  the  Adriatic,  those  north  of  it  becoming  tributaries  to 
the  Po.  It  falls  in  a  torrent  in  the  gorge  between  a  Benedictine  Abbey  and 
that  of  St.  Gaudentius,  in  one  unbroken  stream,  like,  *.^.,  Scale  Force,  near 
Derwentwater.  Reaching  Fcrli,  it  takes  the  name  of  Montone,  and  con- 
tinues its  seaward  course.  Line  102  has  been  differently  interpreted,  there 
being  no  noun  after  the  "  thousand,"  (i)  as  sttictly  a  picture  of  the  scene, 
the  rock-wall  aff&rding  space  (or  a  thousand  small  cascades,  instead  of  the 
one  big  waterfall ;  (2)  as  a  sarcastic  hit  at  the  degenerate  condition  of  the 
Benedictine  Abbey,  where  there  might  have  been  more  than  a  thousand 
monks,  while  actually  there  were  but  few.     "Where  should  be  room  for  full 

thousand  thread  "  would  give  the  former  meaning. 

107  Assuming  the  ethical  interpretation  of  the  three  beasts  of  C.  i.  32-54, 
the  panther,  it  will  be  remembered,  represented  the  sin  of  sensuality.  The 
116 


HELL  CANTO  XVI 

And  after  I  its  coil  all  loose  did  make, 

Obeying  so  the  bidding  of  my  Guide,  "" 

Coiled  and  entwined,  I  gave  it  as  he  spake. 

Then  turned  he  to  the  right,  and  from  the  side 
A  little  distance  hurled  its  full  extent. 
And  flung  it  down  the  abyss  profound  and  wide. 

"  To  this  new  sign  some  new  and  strange  event  "® 

Must  answer,"  to  myself  I  made  reply, 
"  Since  on  it  thus  my  Guide  looks  so  intent." 

Ah  me  !   how  careful  men  should  be  when  nigh 
To  those  who  see  not  outward  act  alone. 
But  inward  thoughts  discern  with  wisdom  high  !     ^^ 

He  said  to  me,  "  Soon  upward  cometh  on 
What  I  await,  and  what  thy  fancies  dream 
Soon  to  thine  eyes  full  clearly  will  be  shown." 

Aye  to  that  truth  which  doth  as  falsehood  seenj 

A  man  should  close  his  lips  as  best  he  may,  '^ 

Since  him,  though  blameless,  men  may  base  esteem. 

"  cord"  must  therefore  be  the  symbol  of  that  which  seemed  to  promise  a 
victory  over  sensuality,  i.e.,  the  rule  of  an  ascetic  Hfe.  As  part  of  the  dress 
of  the  Franciscan  Order,  who  were  thence  known  as  Cordeliers  (C.  xxvii. 
67),  it  had  become  the  proverbial  symbol  of  that  Order.  Taken  by  itself, 
the  passage  would  imply  that  at  some  time  or  other  in  his  life  Dante  had 
become  a  member  of  the  Tertiary  section  of  the  Order,  who  were  not  bound 
by  the  stricter  vows  of  poverty  and  celibacy.  Add  to  this  (i)  that  Buti,  one 
of  the  earliest  commentators,  speaks  of  this,  here  and  on  Par.  xxx.  42,  as 
an  "xindoubted  fact;"  (2)  that  Dante  speaks  with  more  enthusiasm  of 
St.  Francis  than  of  any  other  saint  in  Paradise  {Par,  xi.) ;  (j)  that  Giotto's 
painting  at  Assisi  represents  a  figure  coming  to  St.  Francis  in  which  we 
recognise  the  poet's  unmistakable  features  ;  and  (4)  that  at  his  death  he  was 
buried,  by  his  own  desire,  in  the  dress  of  the  Order ;  and  there  seems,  I 
think,  sufficient  reason  to  follow  Scart.  and  other  commentators  (see 
especially  IVeg.  446)  in  adopting  that  conclusion.  If  I  am  right  in  thinking 
that  it  is  in  a  high  degree  probable  that  he  met  Roger  Bacon,  the  great 
Franciscan  friar,  at  Oxford  {Cont.  Re7i.  Nov.  1881)  before  his  exile,  we  may 
perhaps  look  to  that  as  the  time  when  he  first  girt  himself  with  the  symbolic 
cord.  It  may  be  noted  that  in  the  vision  he  wears  it  Just  as  long  as  he  is  in 
contact  with  sins  of  sensuality  and  no  longer.  Virgil  throws  it  away ; 
higher  ethical  teaching  dispenses  with  the  outward  form.  The  outward 
form,  so  often  associated  with  unreality,  seems  only,  as  in  what  follows,  to 
attract  the  monstrous  symbol  of  hypocrisy.  He  can  dispense  with  that 
now,  as  afterwards  he  dispenses  even  with  Virgil's  guidance  {Purg.  xxvii. 
142).  Other  interpreters  see  in  the  cord  the  symbol  of  fraud,  or  integrity,  or 
truth,  or  vigilance,  or  self-righteousness.  And  so  the  reader  must  decide. 
The  lines  which  follow  show,  at  any  rate,  that  the  poet  had  some  symbolic 
meaning  in  his  thoughts. 

117 


HELL  CANTO  XVII 

But  here  I  cannot,  and  by  this  my  lay. 
This  Comedy,  dear  Reader,  do  I  swear, 
(So  may  it  win  to  lengthened  fame  its  way  !), 

I  saw,  through  that  thick  air  obscure  and  drear,  ^^ 

A  swimming  form  that  upward  seemed  to  sweep. 
Which  well  might  fill  each  careless  heart  with  fear, 

As  one  doth  turn  who  diveth  in  the  deep 

To  clear  an  anchor  which  or  rock's  rough  crest. 

Or  what  the  sea  hides  else,  below  doth  keep,  ^^ 

Who  upward  stretches,  feet  close  to  him  pressed. 


CANTO  XVII 

Geryon — Hhe  Usurers — The  Abyss  of  MaUbolge 

"  See  there  the  monster  with  the  pointed  tail, 

Which  passeth  mountains,  walls  and  arms  doth  break  ; 
See  him  who  fills  the  whole  wide  world  with  bale." 

So  unto  me  my  Guide  began  and  spake. 

And  signalled  to  him  to  approach  the  shore,  ^ 

Near  the  paved  path  where  we  our  way  did  take  ; 

And  that  foul  type  of  guileful  fraud  came  o'er. 
And  to  the  bank  its  head  and  breast  it  brought, 
But  not  upon  that  bank  its  tail  it  bore. 

127  Xhe  new  formula  jurandi,  the  Commedia  being  to  him  as  a  sacred 
thing,  like  the  relics  of  a  saint,  is,  one  may  believe,  half  earnest  and  half 
play.     Comp.  Par.  xxv.  i. 

133  The  similitude  again  implies  sea-travels.  Comp.  C.  vii.  13  ;  Purg. 
viii.  1-6. 

1  The  name  of  the  monster  (Geryon)  does  not  meet  us  till  L  97.  The  most 
noticeable  point  in  the  description  is  the  boldness  with  which  Dante  throws 
aside  the  received  image  which  was  associated  with  the  name  in  Greek  and 
Roman  mythology.  Geryon  was  always  a  three-headed,  three-bodied  mon- 
ster {yEn.  viii.  202  ;  Lucr.  v.  28).  Dante  makes  him  a  human-headed 
serpent ;  and  the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  story  of  Gen.  iii.  had  made 
the  serpent  the  type  of  false  and  fraudulent  wisdom,  i.e.,  of  hypocrisy,  and 
nothing  was  more  common  in  the  art  of  Mediaeval  Europe  than  to  represent 
the  serpent  who  tempted  Adam  with  a  human  face.  Riiskin  {F.  C.  xxiv.  14) 
sees  in  Geryon  the  type  of  the  brute  and  human  elements  of  man's  nature 
118 


HELL  CANTO  XVII 

Its  face  was  of  a  man  of  righteou*  thought,  *" 

So  kindly  did  its  outward  aspect  show, 
And  all  the  trunk  in  serpent's  form  was  wrought. 

Two  hairy  paws  did  from  the  armpits  grow, 
And  on  its  back  and  breast  and  either  side 
Were  many  a  coil  and  many  a  knotted  bow  :  '" 

Nor  woof  nor  warp  that  with  its  colours  vied 
Did  Turks  or  Tartars  e'er  in  clothwork  weave, 
Nor  tissues  such  as  these  Arachne  plied. 

As  boats  that  oft  the  river's  banks  receive, 

And  half  is  in  the  water,  half  on  land,  ** 

And  as  in  clime  where  full-fed  Germans  live. 

The  beaver  for  his  foray  takes  his  stand  ; 
So  in  like  manner  lay  that  monster  low 
On  the  stone  margin  that  shuts  in  the  sand. 

In  the  void  space  its  tail  played  to  and  fro,  ^ 

Curling  on  high  the  forked  and  venomed  sting, 
Which,  like  a  scorpion's,  armed  it  'gainst  its  foe. 

Then  my  guide  spake  :  "  'Tis  meet  we  now  should  bring 
Our  steps  a  little  from  the  path  astray. 
Where  that  fierce  monster  all  his  length  doth  fling."  ^ 

Then  on  the  right  we  took  our  downward  way, 
And  ten  steps  took  upon  the  mr -gin's     m. 
Beyond  the  sands  and  falling  flames  to  stay. 

And  when  we  had  full  nigh  approached  to  him, 

A  little  farther  on  the  sand  I  see  ^' 

A  new  tribe  sitting  near  the  hollow's  brim  ; 

in  harmony,  both  being  false.  Line  2  describes  the  universal  influence  of 
hypocrisy,  just  as  C.  i.  51,  100,  does  thai  of  selfish  greed. 

17  Possibly  a  reminiscence  of  descriptions  tliat  Dante  had  heard,  or  textile 
work  that  he  had  seen,  when  he  came  in  contact  with  Marco  Polo  at  Venice 
(comp.  C.  xxi.  7),  to  which  the  great  traveller  returned  in  1295  (d.  1323). 
The  varied  colours,  not  unlike  the  pattern  of  a  snake's  skin,  help  out  the 
symbolism  of  varied  and  subtle  fraud.  The  story  of  Arachne  comes  from 
Ovid  (Met.  vi.  145),  and  Virgil  {peorg.  iv.  246). 

21  The  poet's  ideal  imperialism  was  obviously  compatible  with  a  strong 
dislike  to  the  Teuton  as  such.  For  the  character  given  to  Germans,  comp. 
Shakesp.,  Merch.  0/  Ven.  i.  2.  The  comparison  implies  travels  along  the 
banks  of  German  rivers,  probably  the  Rhine  (comp.  C.  xxiii.  63). 

"9 


HELL  CANTO  xvn 

And  then  my  Master  :  "That  complete  may  be 
Thy  knowledge  of  this  circle  where  we  tread. 
Go  thou  and  note  well  what  their  destiny. 

Brief  let  thy  words  be  that  shall  there  be  said  ;  *" 

And  till  thou  turn,  with  him  converse  will  I, 
That  he  for  us  his  shoulders  broad  may  spread." 

So  was  it  on  the  farthest  boundary 

Of  that  seventh  circle  went  I  all  alone, 

Where  sat  a  people  bowed  with  misery  ;  ** 

Out  of  their  eyes  their  piteous  woes  were  shown, 

Now  here,  now  there,  their  hands  they  made  a  screen, 
Now'gainst  thesmoke,  now 'gainst  the hotsand  thrown; 

Not  otherwise  in  summer  dogs  are  seen 

Moving  or  head  or  foot,  when  they  by  bite  ^'^ 

Of  fleas,  or  flies,  or  gadflies  vexed  have  been. 

And  when  on  some  I  gazed  with  all  my  might, 
On  whom  the  dolorous  fire  was  ever  flung, 
I  knew  not  one,  but  soon  there  met  my  sight 

A  bag  that  on  the  neck  of  each  was  hung,  ^ 

Each  with  a  certain  badge  on  certain  ground. 
Which  from  their  eyes  keen  hungry  glances  wrung  ; 

And  as  I  went  among  them  looking  round. 
Upon  a  yellow  purse  I  saw  azure. 
In  which  a  lion's  face  and  form  were  found.  '^ 

Then  going  farther  on  my  gazing  tour, 
I  saw  another  full  as  red  as  blood, 
Bearing  a  goose  more  white  than  butter  pure  ; 

37  We  enter  on  the  circle  of  the  fraudulent,  of  whom  Geryon  was  the  fit 
custooian. 

84  The  non-recognition  may  be  either  symbolical,  as  in  C.  vii.  53,  or  may 
be  meant  to  indicate  that  the  poet  had  had  no  associates  in  that  class  of  the 
fraudulent.  The  special  process  by  which  they  are  identified  probably 
expresses  Dante's  scorn  for  the  ostentatious  heraldry  of  the  nouveaux  riches 
of  Florence.  Few,  if  any,  of  the  bearings  thus  described  have  found  their 
way  into  Litta's  magnificent  volumes  on  the  Favtiglic  Cclebri  Italiane. 

89  The  "purse"  of  the  rich  citizens  takes  the  place  of  the  shield  of 
knights.  The  lion  azure  on  field  or  identifies  the  Gianfigliazzi  family  of 
Florence.  They  were  Guelphs,  were  notorious  usurers,  and  were  banished 
after  Montaperti  {Vili.  v.  39,  vi.  33-73,  ^"''  39'  ^"-^i^P-  c-  172). 

"S  1  he  poet's  judgment  falls  impartially.  The  goose  argent  on  field  gules 
120 


HELL  CANTO  XVII 

And  one,  who  bore  an  azure  sow  in  brood 

Emblazoned  on  his  little  wallet  white,  ** 

Said,  "Why  dost  thou  on  this  drear  pit  intrude  ? 

Now  get  thee  gone  ;  and  since  thou  see'st  life's  light, 
Know  that  Vitalian,  who  dwells  near  my  home. 
Will  on  my  left  hand  sit  in  this  sad  plight. 

With  these  of  Florence  I  from  Padua  come,  ^ 

And  many  a  time  they  thunder  in  mine  ear, 
'  Lo  !  for  the  sovran  cavalier  make  room. 

Who'll  bring  the  bag  where  three  he-goats  appear  ! ' " 
Then  twisted  he  his  mouth,  and  tongue  out-thrust 
Like  ox  that  licks  its  nose  ;  and  I,  in  fear  ^^ 

Lest  longer  stay  should  vex  him  who  had  just 
Warned  me  I  should  but  little  while  abide, 
Turned  from  those  souls  all  weary  and  adust. 

I  found  my  Master  even  then  astride 

Upon  the  curved  back  of  the  monster  fiend,  ^ 

And  then  he  said,  "  Be  brave  ;  cast  fear  aside  ; 

was  borne  by  the  Ubriacchi  (Ghibellines)  of  Florence  (Malisp.  c.  i6o  ;  Vtll. 
V.  39,  vi.  33,  6s),  of  ill  repute  for  the  same  practice. 

64  The  sow  azure  on  field  argent  belongs,  as  the  sequel  shows,  to  the 
Paduan  family  of  the  Scrovigni.  The  speaker  is  probably  a  Reginald  of  that 
family.  Stories  were  told  of  him  which  Dante  may  have  heard  :  (i)  That 
his  last  counsel  to  his  son  was  that  in  money,  and  money  only,  he  would  find 
power  and  strength  and  safety ;  (2)  that  his  very  last  words  were  :  "  Give 
me  the  key  of  my  chest  that  no  one  may  find  my  money"  (Salvatico,  Dante 
e  Padova,  1865,  in  Scart.).  His  son  Henry  bought  the  Arena  in  Padua 
(1303),  and  built  on  it  the  chapel  in  which  Giotto  painted  while  Dante  looked 
on,  as  an  expiation  for  his  father's  sins  (Ruskin,  Giotto  and  his  Works). 

"8  For  the  first  time  we  have,  as  it  were,  a  prophetic  condemnation  of  one 
who  was  living  at  the  date  a.ssumed  for  the  vision,  but  dead  when  he  wrote 
this  Canto.  He  is  identified  with  a  Vitaliano  dei  Vitaliani  of  Padua,  whose 
usury  was  notorious,  and  of  whom  a  local  chronicle  of  1323  speaks  as  con- 
demned to  Hell  by  the  Doctor  Vulgaris,  sc.  Dante,  as  the  great  scholastic 
poet  who  had  written  in  Italian  (Marpurgo,  Dante  e  Padova,  in  Scart.). 

72  Note  the  irony  of  the  "sovran  cavalier"  as  an  echo  of  the  poeta 
sovrano  of  C.  iv.  88.  The  bearer  of  the  purse  with  three  goats  rampant 
sable  on  field  or,  Giovanni  Buiamonte  of  Florence,  still  living  in  1300,  was  as 
far  above  all  other  usurers  as  Homer  was  above  all  other  poets.  The  act 
described  was,  in  Isai.  Ivii.  4,  Pers.  i.  58-60,  expressive  of  extremest  scorn. 

79  The  conipact  with  Geryon  is  represented  as  made  (1.  41)  while  Dante 
was  occupied  with  the  usurers.  The  symbolism  of  the  descent  in  this  fashion 
seems  to  be  that  a  supreme  wisdom  like  Virgil's  can  make  even  fraud,  "the 
wisdom  of  the  serpent,"  work  out  a  righteous  purpose  ;  that  wisdom  can 
retain  its  calmness  in  using  such  an  instrument ;  a  less  trained  intellect,  like 
121 


HELL  CANTO  XVII 

Now  upon  steps  thus  made  must  we  descend  ; 
Mount  thou  in  front,  and  I  will  sit  between. 
So  that  the  tail  be  powerless  to  offend." 

As  one  who  waits,  with  nails  all  pale  and  lean,  ^ 

The  near  approach  of  quartan  ague  cold. 
Shivers,  if  but  a  passing  shade  be  seen, 

So  was  I  when  to  me  those  words  were  told. 

But  his  strong  warnings  wrought  in  me  the  shame 
Which  for  good  master  makes  a  servant  bold.  ^ 

Then  on  those  shoulders  wide  I  riding  came, 

And  wished  to  say,  "Take  heed  thou  me  embrace," 
But  my  voice  could  not  what  I  meant  proclaim  ; 

But  he  who  oft  had  helped  me  of  his  grace 

Elsewhere,  when  I  was  mounted,  clasped  me  round  *^ 
With  his  strong  arms  and  stood  me  in  good  case, 

And  said,  "  O  Geryon,  now  get  o'er  the  ground  ; 
Wide  be  thy  circuit,  gradual  thy  descent  : 
Think  of  the  burden  new  that  thou  hast  found," 

E'en  as  a  little  boat  from  harbour  sent  '** 

Goes  backward,  backward,  so  he  went  his  way  ; 
And  when  his  huge  form  for  full  play  found  vent. 

His  tail  he  turned  where  erst  his  breast  did  stay, 
And,  like  an  eel,  that  tail  outstretched  did  shajie. 
And  with  his  arms  the  air  before  him  fray.  '"^ 

No  greater  fear,  I  trow,  made  men  to  quake 
What  time  that"  Phaethon  let  slip  the  rein, 
And,  as  we  still  see,  heaven  ablaze  did  make  ; 

Nor  yet  when  wretched  Icarus  felt  the  pain 

Of  the  hot  wax  that  left  him  stripped  and  bare,      "" 
And  his  sire  cried,  "Thou  hast  an  ill  path  ta'en," 


Dante's,  quails  and  quakes  as  in  an  ague,  but  nerves  himself  for  the  enterprise 
as  a  "  bold  servant  "  for  a  "  good  master." 

108  The  allusion  is  to  the  Milky  Way,  of  which  one  explanation  was  that  it 
was  caused  by  the  sun's  wandering  from  his  course  when  Phaethon  drove  the 
chariot  of  Apollo.  In  Conv.  ii.  15  the  various  theories  of  the  Galaxy  are 
discussed  scientitically.  The  Daedalus  and  Icarus  story  had  probably  been 
impressed  ou  Dante's  mind  by  Ovid  (Metain.  viii.  303  et  stg^, 
122 


H  E  li  L  CANTO  XVII 

Than  mine  was,  when  around  me  everywhere 
I  looked,  and  nothing  saw  but  empty  space, 
All  vanished,  save  that  monster  in  the  air. 

Onward  he  swims  along  with  slow,  slow  pace,  "* 

Wheeling,  descending,  yet  I  know  his  flight 
Only  by  wind  that  upward  meets  my  face. 

Already,  from  the  whirlpool  on  the  right, 
I  hear  the  dread  wild  tumult  that  it  made. 
And  therefore  stretch  my  head  to  see  the  sight  ;     '*• 

Then  was  I  of  the  abyss  yet  more  afraid, 
For  flames  I  saw,  and  heard  a  bitter  wail  ; 
So,  trembling,  round  its  flanks  my  limbs  I  laid, 

And  saw,  what  I  to  see  till  then  did  fail. 

Our  wheeling  and  descent  through  each  dread  sight  ^* 
That  now  on  all  sides  did  the  sense  assail  ; 

And  as  the  falcon  after  lengthened  flight. 

Who,  seeing  neither  bird,  nor  lure,  finds  blame, 
And  makes  his  master  cry,  "What  !   dost  alight?" 

Whence  quick  he  started,  wheels  his  weary  frame      ^^ 
A  hundred  times,  and  settles  far  apart 
From  where  his  master  stands,  in  sullen  shame, 

So  Geryon  in  the  depth  our  course  did  stay 

Just  at  the  base  whence  that  sheer  rock  did  spring ; 
And,  from  the  burden  freed  that  on  him  lay,  '^ 

Went  ofi^  as  speeds  an  arrow  from  the  string. 

127  The  long  descent  to  the  pits  of  the  Malebolge  recalls  the  observation  of 
one  who,  as  a  falconer,  had  watched  the  movements  of  his  bird  with  keen 
delight.  (See  C.  xxii.  131 ;  Purg.  xix.  64,  et  al.)  The  descent  into  the 
earlier  circles  had  been  practicable  for  human  feet.  Here  it  is  at  once 
deeper  and  steeper.  The  fall  into  the  sin  of  the  fraudulent  is  greater  and 
more  headlong  than  that  into  other  forms  of  evil,  and  involves  a  deeper 
degradation. 


IZ3 


HELL  CANTO  XVIII 

the  First  Bolgia — The  Seducers,  Jason  and  others — The  Second 
Bolgia — The  Flatterers 

A  PLACE  there  is  in  Hell  that  bears  the  name 
Of  Malebolge,  all  of  iron-hued  stone, 
As  is  the  circle  which  surrounds  its  frame  : 

I'  the  midst  of  that  malignant  region  thrown, 

Yawns  wide  a  well  exceeding  wide  and  deep,  * 

Whose  structure  shall  in  season  due  be  shown. 

Round,  then,  is  that  enclosure  which  doth  keep 
Its  place  between  the  pit  and  that  stern  shore, 
And  it  is  cut  by  ten  broad  trenches  steep. 

As  where,  to  guard  a  fortress  more  and  more,  ^° 

Wide  fosses  girdle  round  a  castle's  height, 
They  form  a  figure  as  the  eye  looks  o'er. 

Just  such  an  image  these  formed  to  our  sight  ; 
And  as  in  such  a  fortress,  from  the  gates 
To  the  outer  bank,  are  flung  the  bridges  light,  ^' 

So  from  the  base  of  rock  precipitate 

Crags  started,  and  o'er  dikes  and  moats  made  track. 
On  to  the  pit  where  they  converge,  truncate. 

Within  this  place,  down  shaken  from  the  back 

Of  Geryon,  we  found  us,  and  the  Bard  ^^ 

Turned  to  the  left,  I  following  on  his  track. 

There,  on  our  right,  new  woes  the  prospect  marred. 
New  torments  there,  and  novel  scourgers  too. 
Which  that  first  Bolgia  did  within  it  guard  ; 

1  The  region  Malebolge  (=  evil  pits)  includes  the  forms  of  crime  that 
come,  as  in  the  classification  of  C.  xi.  15-66,  under  the  category  of  frauds  ; — 
(i)  Seducers;  (2)  flatterers  (C.  xviii.);  (3)  simonists  (C.  xix.):  (4)  sooth- 
sayers (C.  XX.);  (s)  bribers  and  bribe-takers  (C.  xxi.,  xxii.);  (6)  hypocrites 
(C.  xxiii.)  ;  (7)  robbers  (C.  xxiv.,  xxv.);  (8)  evil  counsellors (C.  xxvi.,  xxvii  ); 
(9)  slanderers  (C.  xxviii.,  xxix.);  (10)  forgers  and  coiners  (C.  xxix.,  xxx.). 
The  sin  of  the  traitor  is  reserved  for  the  ninth  and  last  circle. 

7  As  with  the  city  of  Dis  in  C.  viii.  1-17,  so  here,  the  picture  is  drawn 
from  the  aspect  of  a  mediaeval  fortress.  Here,  however,  there  are  ten 
circular  moats  (there  are  instances  of  three  moats,  but  I  do  not  remember 
any  city  with  ten)  and  ten  dikes,  not  of  hewn  stone,  but  rough  rock  and 
rock-bridges,  lead  with  a  slight  descent  from  one  to  the  other. 
124 


HELL  CANTO  XVIII 

Below,  the  sinners  naked  came  in  view,  -" 

And  this  side  from  the  midst  our  path  they  crossed  ; 
On  that,  with  us,  but  swifter  course  pursue. 

E'en  as  the  Romans,  for  the  countless  host 
That  cross  the  bridge  in  year  of  Jubilee, 
Of  their  new  way  of  passing  o'er  may  boast  ;  ^ 

For  on  one  side  all  turn  their  face  to  see 
The  Castle,  as  to  Peter's  shrine  they  go. 
And  on  the  other  to  the  Mount  move  free. 

This  side  and  that,  along  the  dark  rock's  brow. 

Saw  I  horned  demons  with  great  scourge  in  hand,    ^ 
Who  with  it  on  their  backs  laid  many  a  blow. 

Ah  me  !  how  soon  they  made  that  tortured  band 
At  the  first  stroke  lift  up  their  legs,  and  none 
To  wait  a  second  or  a  third  would  stand. 

And  as  I  went  my  glances  fell  on  one,  ** 

Whom  soon  as  I  perceived,  I  to  him  said, 
"Not  for  the  first  time  now  that  face  I've  known." 

Wherefore  to  see  him  clear  my  feet  I  stayed. 
And  my  sweet  Master  would  with  me  abide, 
And  to  my  turning  back  no  hindrance  made.  ^^ 

And  he,  that  scourged  one,  thought  himself  to  hide. 
Lowering  his  face  ;  but  little  that  availed. 
For  said  I,  "  Thou  whose  eyes  to  earth  are  tied, 

Unless  thy  face  to  tell  the  truth  hath  failed, 

Venedigo  Caccianimico  thou  art,  ^ 

But  what  to  such  sharp  pickle  thee  hath  haled  ? " 

28  The  picture  is  obviously  drawn  from  a  reminiscence  of  what  Dante  had 
seen  during  his  visit  or  pilgrimage  to  Rome  in  1300  (his  formal  mission  was 
in  1301),  which  Boniface  VIII.  had  proclaimed  as  a  year  of  jubilee  (K2V/. 
viii.  36 ;  fVeg:  140).  What  had  struck  him  was  the  ordered  march  of  a  great 
multitude  (more  than  2,000,000  were  in  Rome  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
year),  each  keeping  to  the  rule  of  the  road,  as  they  crossed  the  Tiber  towards 
the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo.  "The  Mount"  has  been  identified  with  the 
Monte  Gianicolo,  or  the  Monte  Giordano.  As  the  Church  of  St.  Pietro  in 
Montorio  stands  on  a  spur  of  the  former,  and  would  naturally  be  one  of  the 
shrines  visited  by  the  pilgrims,  it  fits  in  better  with  the  picture  than  the 
slight  elevation,  unknown  to  fame,  of  Monte  Giordano  (see  Barlow  in  ioc). 
For  another  reference  to  the  Jubilee,  compare  Par.  xxxi.  104. 

O"  The  tale  of  baseness  is  briefly  told.     The  Caccianimici  (the  name  is 


HELL  CANTO  XVIII 

And  he  :  "Against  my  will  I  that  impart. 

But  thy  clear  accents  do  my  speech  constrain, 
And  waken  old-world  memories  in  my  heart. 

'Twas  I  that  fair  Ghisola's  heart  did  gain  " 

The  proud  Marchese's  will  in  all  to  bear, 
However  men  that  story  foul  explain. 

Nor  of  Bologna  I  alone  weep  here  ; 

Nay,  with  them  rather  so  is  filled  the  place. 

That  not  as  many  are  the  lips  taught  there,  ** 

'Twixt  Reno  and  Savena,  Sipa^s  phrase. 
And  if  of  this  thou  askest  evidence. 
Our  greedy  spirit  in  thy  mind  retrace." 
And,  as  he  spake,  a  demon  drove  him  thence 
With  knotted  scourge,  and  said,  "  Away,  away,        ® 
Pander  ;  no  women  here  are  sold  for  pence." 

I  then  drew  back  to  where  my  Guide  did  stay, 
And  then  a  few  steps  farther  we  passed  by. 
Where  from  the  bank  a  bold  rock  forced  its  way. 

With  nimble  feet  upon  it  we  leapt  high,  '" 

And  on  its  ridge  then  turning  to  the  right. 
Ceased  on  those  timeless  rounds  our  path  to  try. 

When  we  came  there,  where,  underneath  the  height. 
Opens  a  path,  where  those  poor  scourged  ones  go. 
My  Master  said,  "  Take  good  heed  to  the  sight       ^^ 

sufficiently  characteristic  of  the  time)  were  a  noble  family  of  Bologna. 
Venedico  was  Podesta  of  Milan  in  1286.  His  sister  Ghisola  was  famed  for 
her  beauty.  He,  to  gain  the  favour  of  his  patron,  Azzo  or  Opizzo  d'Este, 
Marquis  of  Ferrara,  gave  him,  "for  value  received"  (p.  66),  facilities  for 
her  seduction  (Scari.).  Line  57  implies  a  personal  knowledge,  on  Dante's 
part,  of  a  story  of  which  there  were  many  floating  versions.     The  term 

pickle,"  which  in  any  language,  as  in  English,  might  be  a  natural  equi- 
valent for  "  trouble,"  had  a  local  significance  m  Bologna,  where  a  waste  pit 
outside  the  city  near  S.  Maria  in  Monte  was  known  as  the  Salsa.  Rubbish 
and  filth  of  all  kinds  were  thrown  in,  and  the  bodies  of  infamous  criminals 
were  left  there  to  rot.  It  was,  as  it  were,  the  Gehenna  of  Bologna,  and  the 
extremest  reproach  of  Bolognese  Billingsgate  was,  "  Your  father  was  thrown 
to  the  Salse    {Benv.  Rantb.  in  Scart.). 

60  Sipa,  for  sia  or  si,  seems  to  have  been  a  Bolognese  shibboleth.  The 
Reno  and  the  Savena  are  two  nvers  flowing  from  the  Apennines  into  a 
branch  of  the  Po,  and  forming  the  natural  boundaries  of  the  Bolognese 
territory  (Joan,  de  Virg.  Eel.  ii.  i). 

63  Dante  had  been  at  Bologna  as  a  student,  and  had  known  the  vices  of 
its  citizens. 

126 


HELL  CANTO  XVIII 

Of  those,  the  others  born  for  sin  and  woe, 
Of  whom  thou  hast  not  seen  as  yet  the  face, 
Because  with  us  they  walked  in  even  row." 

From  the  old  bridge  we  saw  towards  us  pace. 

As  from  the  other  side,  another  band,  ®" 

Whom  in  like  mode  the  cruel  scourge  did  chase. 

My  Master  kind,  not  waiting  for  demand. 
Said  to  me,  "  See  yon  lofty  form  draw  near. 
Who  sheds  no  tear,  though  sorely  pained  he  stand  ! 

What  kingly  greatness  still  doth  linger  there  !  ^ 

That  same  is  Jason,  who  by  craft  and  skill 
From  Colchian  shores  the  wondrous  ram  did  bear. 

By  Lemnos'  isle  he  passed  in  moment  ill. 

When  the  bold  women,  by  fierce  daring  pressed. 
Swore  all  their  males  in  ruthless  rage  to  kill.  ^ 

With  tokens  there  and  words  full  subtly  dressed 
Hypsipyle  he  cheated,  maiden  fair. 
Who  had  already  cheated  all  the  rest. 

Forlorn  and  great  with  child,  he  left  her  there. 

Such  crime  now  dooms  him  to  such  punishment :    '* 
Medea  too  finds  ample  vengeance  here 

With  him  are  those  who  use  like  blandishment. 
Let  it  suffice  thee  thus  much  of  this  glen 
To  know,  and  those  who  in  its  jaws  are  pent." 

Already  stood  we  where  the  strait  path  then  '* 

Crosses  the  second  causeway,  passing  o'er. 
And  forms  a  buttress  arching  o'er  the  den. 

There  heard  we  moans  and  cries  of  travail  sore 
In  the  next  pit,  from  those  who  snort  in  pain. 
And  with  their  hands  themselves  smite  evermore.   ^°° 

86  Jason,  the  leader  of  the  Argonauts,  with  his  double  seduction  (i)  of 
Hypsipyle,  queen  of  Lemnos,  who  had  "  cheated  "  her  countrywomen  by 
rescuing  her  father,  Thoas,  from  the  massacre  of  all  Lemnian  males,  on 
which  they  had  resolved,  and  (2)  of  Medea  of  Colchis,  whom  he  abandoned 
for  Creusa,  appears  as  the  great  seduc-r  of  antiquity. 

104-123  We  pass  from  the  seducers  to  the  flatterers,  wallowing,  as  it  were, 

in  their  own  filth.     Of  the  Interminei  (abbreviation  of  "  Interminelli")  here 

named,  little  is  known  but  that  he  was  of  the  party  of  the  Bianchi  at  Lucca 

(KtV/.  viii.  46).     History  records  nothing  more  about  him;  but  the  early 

127 


HELL  CANTO  xvai 

Its  sloping  banks  a  crusted  scurf  did  stain. 
Formed  by  the  vapours  clinging  from  below, 
Which  both  o'er  eyes  and  nose  doth  mastery  gain. 

So  deep  the  bottom  is,  that  nought  doth  show. 

Unless  one  mounteth  to  the  arch's  span,  "° 

Where  the  rock  forward  most  its  mass  doth  throw. 

Thither  we  came,  and  thence,  where  deep  fosse  ran, 
I  saw  a  tribe  in  such  filth  suffocate. 
As  festers  in  draught-houses  made  by  man. 

And  whilst  I  sought  with  glance  to  penetrate,  ^^ 

One  I  beheld  with  head  so  foul  with  mire, 
I  could  not  tell  if  lay  or  priest  his  state. 

He  cried  to  me,  "  Why  dost  thou  so  desire 
Rather  on  me  than  my  foul  mates  to  gaze  ? " 
And  I  to  him  :  "  Because,  with  tresses  drier,  *^ 

If  memory  serve,  I  knew  thee  in  old  days  : 
Alessio  Interminei  I  note. 
Of  Lucca  ;  hence  on  thee  my  vision  stays 

More  than  the  rest."     Then,  as  his  pate  he  smote, 
"  Thy  flattering  words,"  he  said, "  have  sunk  me  low,  ^^' 
Wherewith  was  never  surfeited  my  throat." 

And   then   my  Guide  :   "  Take   heed  that    thou  bend 
now 
Thy  head  a  little  forward,  that  thine  eyes 
May  reach  to  look  upon  that  face,  and  know 

That  foul  dishevelled  strumpet  who  there  lies,  '*^ 

And  tears  her  flesh  with  nails  in  foul  filtli  dyed. 
And  now  stands  up,  now  sitteth  squatting-wise. 

commentators,  building  probably  upon  Dante's  text,  describe  him,  some  as 
a  flatterer,  specially  of  women,  some  as  the  keeper  of  a  brothel  (£»^z..  Beta/., 
Jac.,  Dant.  m  Scart.). 

130  X  yet  fouler  picture  comes  from  the  Thais  of  the  Eunuckus  of  Terence. 
The  precise  form  of  the  flattering  speech  which  turned  Dante's  stomach  was 
that  when  she  received  from  her  lover's  messenger  the  gift  which  he  had 
sent  her,  she  had  sent  back  word  that  she  valued  it  above  all  others  because 
it  came  from  him.  We  can  hardly  doubt,  I  imagine,  that  the  poet  had  in 
his  mind  a  Thais  of  later  date,  belonging  to  Florence  or  Bologna.  The 
picture  seems  drawn  from  the  Vulg.  of  EccUs.  Lx.  lo. 
IZ8       { 


HELL  CANTO  XIX 

Thais  is  she,  the  harlot,  who  replied, 

Her  lover  asking,  '  Dost  thou  thank  me  then 

Truly  ?'     'Ah  !  yes,  and  wondrously  beside.'  '^ 

Enough  for  this  our  gaze  be  what  we've  seen." 


CANTO  XIX 

The  Third  Bolgia—  The  Simonists — Pope  Nicolas  III. — Church 
Corruptions 

O  Simon  Magus  !   O  ye  wretched  crew  ! 

Who  things  of  God,  that  should  be  brides  of  good, 
To  your  own  greed  adulterate  anew. 

By  lust  of  silver  and  of  gold  subdued  ; 

Now  is  it  meet  the  trump  for  you  to  sound,  * 

Who  in  that  Bolgia  third  in  order  stood. 

Already  on  the  next  sepulchral  mound 

We  had  ascended  to  the  mid-crag's  height, 
Whence  a  plumb-line  goes  down  the  abyss  profound. 

0  Sovran  Wisdom  !  what  strange  skill  and  might  ^° 
Thou  show'stin  Heaven  andearthandthatworlddrear, 
And  with  what  justice  orderest  all  things  right  ! 

1  saw  within  the  sides  and  bottom  there 

The  livid  rock  all  pierced  with  many  a  hole. 
All  of  one  size,  and  each  did  round  appear.  '^ 

Nor  less  nor  greater  seemed  they,  on  the  whole, 
Than  those  which,  in  my  beautiful  St.  John, 
Are  formed,  where  priests  baptize  each  infant  soul  ; 

1  In  entering  the  circle  of  the  Simonists  (this  sin  taking  its  name  from  the  . 
history  of  Acts  viii.  20)  the  pilgrim  found  himself  face  to  face  with  what  was 
by  the  confession  of  Papal  as  well  as  Protestant  historians,  the  canker  of  the 
Mediseval  Church.  Men  looked  to  spiritual  functions  as  things  which  could 
be  bought  for  money,  which  might  be  used  to  make  it.  The  modern  form 
of  traffic  in  livings  is  bad  enough,  but  it  is  guarded,  by  the  very  publicity 
of  its  conditions,  from  some  of  the  worst  evils  which  attended  its  older  work- 
ing. From  Dante's  standpoint  the  temporal  accidents  of  those  spiritual 
functions  were  consecrated,  as  the  nuns  that  were  the  brides  of  Christ  were 
consecrated,  not  to  be  polluted  bjr  the  touch  of  unclean  hands. 

17  The  reminiscence  of  the  exile  is  singularly  touching.     The  octagonal 
129  I 


HELL  CANTO  XIX 

Whereof,  not  many  years  back,  I  broke  one. 

To  save  a  child  that  lay  a-drowning  there  :  "^ 

Let  this  be  proof  that  men  may  falsehood  shun. 

Out  of  the  mouth  of  each  I  saw  appear 
A  sinner's  feet,  and  upward  to  the  thigh 
The  legs  ;  all  else  was  in  that  prison  drear. 

With  all  of  them  the  feet  in  agony  " 

And  joints  were  writhing  in  the  fierce  fire's  throe  ; 
They  would  have  burst  all  bands  and  withes   that 
tie. 

E'en  as  of  things  well  oiled  the  fiery  glow 
Is  wont  to  spread  o'er  all  the  surface  wide. 
So  was  it  with  these  men  from  heel  to  toe.  ^ 

"Who  is  that.  Master,  by  such  torment  tried. 
Who  writhes  himself  above  all  others  there, 
O'er  whom,"  said  I,  "a  redder  flame  doth  glide  ?'* 

And  he  to  me  :  "  If  thou  wilt  let  me  bear 

Thee  down  along  the  bank  that  lies  most  low,  ^ 

Thou  from  himself  of  his  own  sin  shalt  hear." 

And  I  :  "  My  will  with  thy  good-will  doth  go  ; 
Thou  art  my  Lord,  and  know'st  I  never  slight 
Thy  will,  and  what  1  speak  not  thou  dost  know." 

Baptistery  of  S.  John  at  Florence  comes  before  his  mind.  In  it  there  stood 
four  fonts,  about  three  or  four  feet  deep.  A  Florentine  tradition  reports 
that  a  boy  of  Florence,  Antonio  de  Cavicciuoli,  in  the  crowd  that  was 
gathered  on  the  Saturday  before  Easter  (i.e.,  on  the  self-same  day  which  we 
have  now  reached  in  the  poem)  for  lighting  their  tapers  at  the  sacred  fire, 
fell  into  one  of  these  fonts,  and  was  extricated  by  Dante,  who  did  not 
hesitate  to  break  it  (Comm.  Anon,  in  Scart.).  Apparently  his  enemies  had 
twisted  this  into  something  like  a  charge  of  sacrilege.  The  date  is  not  fixed, 
but  the  "not  many  years"  point  to  a  time  before  he  left  Florence,  and 
possibly  during  his  tenure  of  office  as  one  of  the  Priori.  The  old  fonts  were 
removed  in  1576  {Lubin). 

22  The  form  of  punishment  is,  like  all  others,  symbolic.  They -it  is 
noticeable  that  the  only  simonists  named  are  Popes — had  inverted  the  true 
order  of  the  spiritual  society,  and  now  they  themselves  are  in  their  pits  head 
downwards.  Their  brows  mi^ht  have  gained  the  aureole  of  saints,  and  now 
their  feet  glow,  varying  in  their  fiery  red  according  to  their  baseness,  as  those 
aureoles  vary  with  the  degrees  of  sanctity,  with  the  flames  of  Hell.  It  falls 
in  with  this  symbolism  that  to  be  buried  alive  with  the  head  downward  was 
the  medisEval  punishment  of  assassins.  Dante  may  have  heard  the  cries  of  a 
victim  so  punished  asking  for  a  confessor,  for  the  sake  even  of  a  few  moments' 
liekty. 

130 


HELL  CANTO  XIX 

Then  came  we  to  the  fourth  embankment's  height ;    ^^ 
We  turned,  and  on  the  left  hand  wound  our  way 
Down  to  the  narrow  pit,  with  holes  bedight ; 

Nor  did  my  Master  put  my  weight  away 
From  off  his  hip  till  by  the  hok  we  stood 
Of  him  whose  legs  went  writhing  so  alway.  ^^ 

"Whoe'er  thou  be  whose  head  is  downward  bowed, 
O  doleful  soul,  like  stake  in  earth  deep  driven, 
Speak  if  thou  can'st  ;  "  so  spake  I  out  aloud. 

As  stands  the  friar-confessor,  who  hath  shriven 

The  base  assassin,  who,  when  fixed  aright,  ^" 

Recalls  him,  that  some  respite  brief  be  given, 

I  stood  :  he  cried  :  "And  stand'st  thou  there  upright, 
Stand'st  thou  already  here,  O  Boniface  ? 
By  many  years  my  scroll  hath  erred  from  right ; 

Has  that  ill  gain  so  soon  lost  all  its  grace,  ^ 

For  which  thou  didst  not  fear  by  fraud  to  seize 
The  beauteous  bride  and  >vork  her  foul  disgrace  ? " 

So  stood  I  then,  as  men  stand  ill  at  ease. 

Failing  to  see  what  meant  the  answers  made. 

As  mocked,  not  knowing  how  to  answer  these.         ^ 

Then,  "Tell  him  quickly,  quickly,"  Virgil  said, 
"  'I  am  not  he,  not  he  whom  thou  dost  guess.'  " 
And  I,  as  he  commanded  me,  obeyed. 

Then  writhed  his  feet  that  soul,  in  sore  distress, 

And  sighing,  with  sad  voice  of  deepest  woe  ^ 

Said  to  me,  "  What  then  bidd'st  thou  me  confess  ? 

*5  The  first  of  the  Papal  simonists  is  Pope  Nicolas  III.  (1277-80),  whom 
Villani  (vii.  54)  describes  as  avaricious  and  worldly,  bent  on  amassing  wealth 
for  himself  and  his  kindred,  and  openly  practising  simony.  Villani,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  a  Guelph  historian  (see  Milm.  L.  C.  xi.  4  ;  Malisp.  c.  218). 

*2  Oante,  looking  to  the  assumed  date  of  his  vision  (1300),  could  not  place 
Boniface,  who  was  then  living,  in  Hell.  He  finds  an  ingenious  way  of 
evading  the  difficulty  in  the  foresight  which,  as  in  C.  vi.  65,  x.  94-108,  he 
assigns  to  the  spirits  of  the  lost.  Nicolas  knows  that  Boniface  is  to  join  him 
and  his  companions,  but  had  not  expected  him  for  some  years  to  come 
(Boniface  d.  1303),  and  is  therefore  startled  by  what  he  takes  to  be  his  arrival. 

56  The  "  fraud  "  refers  to  the  influences  by  which  Boniface  had  brought 
about  Celestine  V.'s  abdication.  The  "  beauteous  bride,"  as  in  1.  3,  is  the 
Church  of  Christ. 


HELL  CANTO  XIX 

If  thou'rt  so  eager  who  I  am  to  know, 

That  thou  hast  therefore  by  the  bank  come  down, 
Know  that  round  me  the  sacred  robe  did  flow  ; 

I  as  the  she-bear's  son  was  truly  known,  '" 

So  eager  to  increase  the  bear-cubs'  store  ; 
There  money,  here  myself,  in  purse  I've  thrown. 

Beneath  my  head  are  dragged  a  many  more. 
My  predecessors,  stained  with  Simon's  sin. 
Now  crushed  where    fissures  through  the  hard  rock 
bore.  »** 

I  too  shall  downward  fall  when  he  shall  win 
His  way  here,  who  I  thought  had  come  in  thee, 
When  I  my  sudden  questions  did  begin. 

But  longer  time  my  feet  thus  blistered  be. 

Longer  have  I  been  here,  feet  over  head,  * 

Than  he  shall  stand  with  feet  red-hot  to  see. 

For  after  him  comes  one  of  fouler  deed 

From  Western  clime,  a  pastor  without  law, 
Who  him  and  me  alike  shall  supersede. 

70  The  words  play  upon  the  family  name  of  the  Pope,  Orsini,  the  "bear- 
whelps,"  the  ' '  bear  "  figuring  conspicuously  on  their  coat  of  arms  (Litta.  s.  v.). 
The  grim  sarcasm  of  the  poet  paints  him  as  being  in  death  what  he  had  been 
in  life.  He  was  always  putting  money  into  his  purse  ;  now  he  has  put 
himself. 

'3  This,  then,  was  Dante's  summing  up  of  the  history  of  the  Papacy  for 
many  centuries.     There  was  scarcely  even  an  exception  to  prove  the  rule. 

W  The  prediction  of  course  implies  that  the  Canto,  or  this  passage  in  it, 
was  written  after  the  death  of  Clement  V.  in  1314.  For  the  death  of 
Boniface  see  Purg.  xx.  yo.  There  were  twenty-three  years  between  the 
deaths  of  Nicolas  and  Boniface  ;  there  should  be  little  more  than  ten  between 
those  of  Boniface  and  Clement  V.  {d.  April  1314).  Benedict  IX.,  whose 
short  pontificate  {d.  1304)  came  between  the  two,  is  designedly  passed  over 
as  exempt  from  the  vices  of  those  who  went  before  and  followed  him  {Vill. 
viii.  80). 

83  Bertrand  del  Gotto,  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  chosen  as  Pope  Clement 
v.,  was  a  Gascon  by  birth.  Every  act  of  his  must  have  seemed  to  Dante 
iniquitous  and  disastrous.  He  transferred  the  Papacy  from  Rome  to  Avignon, 
and  so  began  the  seventy  years  of  Babylonian  exile,  made  himself  the  servile 
instrument  of  Philip  the  Fair  in  the  suppression  of  the  Knights  Templars, 
and  was  besides  conspicuous  for  simony,  nepotism,  and  personal  profligacy 
(Vill.  viii.  80,  ix.  59 ;  Milm.  L.  C.  vii.  171-324).  Of  him  we  hear  again  in 
Par.  xvii.  82  as  having  tricked  Henry  VII.  with  fair  promises  which  were 
not  kept,  and  his  doom  is  again  proclaimed  in  Par.  xxx.  143-148.  For  a 
brief  moment  Dante  too  had  been  deceived  like  the  Emperor  {Ep.  s),  and 
the  fact  that  be  had  been  tricked  gave  a  fresh  bitterness  to  his  indignation. 
132 


HELL  CANTO  XIX 

Another  Jason  he,  such  as  we  saw  ^ 

In  Maccabees  ;  and  as  on  him  his  king 
Then  smiled,  so  shall  the  Prince  who  France  doth  awe 

Treat  this  one."     I  scarce  knew  if  'twere  a  thing 
Too  bold,  but  I  to  him  in  verse  replied  : 
"  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  what  great  sum  to  bring       ^ 

Our  Lord  bade  Peter  ere  He  would  confide 
The  sacred  keys  into  his  custody  ? 
Truly  no  more  than  '  Follow  me '  He  cried  ; 

Nor  those  with  Peter  bade  Matthias  buy 

With  gold  or  silver,  when  by  lot  he  gained  ** 

The  place  the  false  soul  lost  by  treachery. 

Therefore  stay  here  ;  thou  righteously  art  pained  ; 
And  keep  thou  well  thy  money  basely  earned. 
Which  thee  to  boldness  against  Charles  constrained. 

And  were  it  not  I  have  not  quite  unlearned  ^'^ 

My  awe  and  reverence  for  those  keys  supreme. 
Which  by  thy  hands  in  yon  glad  life  were  turned, 

88  Jason  (Greek  substitute  for  Joshua)  is  the  apostate  priest  of  2  Mace.  i. 
8,  iv.  13-19,  who  made  himself  the  tool  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  by  stealthily 
corrupting  all  that  kept  Israel  as  a  separate  people.  The  king  of  France  is 
Philip  IV.  the  Fair  (1268-1314). 

90  In  the  burning  words  that  follow  we  hear  the  prophet  rather  than  the 
poet.  To  us  the  words  have  lost  something  of  their  power  through  long 
familiarity,  through  the  mitigation  of  the  evil.  We  have  to  think  of  them, 
and  of  the  courage  which  their  utterance  implied,  as  they  came  in  all  their 
incisive  force  from  Dante's  pen.  (For  1.  95,  see  Acts  i.  26.)  The  poet,  in 
the  spirit  of  a  true  reformer,  f^lls  back  from  the  corruptions  of  later  ages 
upon  the  pattern  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 

99  The  words  refer  to  the  secret  transactions  that  preceded  the  massacre  of 
the  Sicilian  Vespers.  Nicolas  III.  was  irritated  with  Charles  of  Anjou,  king 
of  Naules,  for  having  refused  a  proposal  of  marriage  between  his  nephew  and 
the  Pope's  niece.  John  of  Procida,  after  visiting  the  Em(,eror  John 
Palaeologus  at  Constantinople,  came  in  the  disguise  of  a  Franciscan  friar  to 
Rome  and  persuaded  the  Pope  with  large  bribes  to  enter  into  negotiations 
with  Peter  III.  of  Arragon,  the  outcome  of  which  was  the  revolt  in  Sicily 
and  the  consequent  overthrow  of  French  dominion  in  that  island  {Vill.  vii. 
54-57 ;  Malisp.  c.  218-220  in  Scart.  ;  and  Amari,  IVar  0/  the  Sicilian 
Vespers,  passim). 

100  The  whole  passage  that  follows  was  suppressed  b^  the  Spanish  Inquisi- 
tion (Sotomayor,  Index  Lihr or.  Prokib.,  p.  324,  Madrid,  1667). 

102  The  author  of  the  De  MonarchiA  has  not  quite  laid  ai.ide  his  reverence 
for  the  Papal  ideal,  bitter  as  he  may  be  against  those  who  have  corrupted  it. 
The  Empire  and  the  Church,  each  with  defined  rights  under  its  own  ruler, 
were  in  his  theory  essential  conditions  of  a  true  polity,  and  therefore  of 
human  happiness. 


HELL  CANTO  XIX 

I  would  use  words  that  harsher  far  would  seem. 
Because  your  avarice  fills  the  world  with  woe, 
Crushing  the  good,  and  those  of  vile  esteem  '°^ 

Upraising.     You  the  Evangelist  did  show. 
Ye  shepherds,  when  the  harlot  he  displayed 
Who,  by  the  streams,  doth  kings  as  lovers  know  ; 

She  who  with  seven  heads  born  was  there  portrayed. 
Who  from  the  ten  horns  did  her  strength  renew,     "" 
As  long  as  she  the  Bridegroom's  law  obeyed. 

Silver  and  gold  are  now  made  gods  by  you, 
And  what  divides  you  from  the  Paynim  wild  ? 
Ye  worship  hundreds,  he  to  one  is  true. 

Ah  !  Constantine,  what  evil  came  as  child,  *•* 

Not  of  thy  change  of  creed,  but  of  the  dower 
Of  which  the  first  rich  Father  thee  beguiled  !  " 

And  while  my  song  such  notes  as  these  did  pour. 
As  anger  or  remorse  his  soul  did  sting, 
Both  feet  he  writhed  as  though  in  torment  sore.      ^^° 

I  think  my  Guide  was  pleased  as  I  did  sing. 
With  such  contented  lip  he  still  did  list 
The  sound  of  words  that  had  a  truthful  ring. 

110  The  words  have  the  interest  of  being  a  mediaeval  interpretation  of 
Rev.  xvii.  1-15,  in  which,  however,  the  harlot  and  the  beast  seem  somewhat 
strangely  blended.  The  harlot  is  the  corrupted  Church  of  Rome  ;  the  seven 
heads  are  the  seven  hills  on  which  the  city  is  built,  or  perhaps,  with  an 
entirely  different  exegesis,  the  seven  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  or  the  seven  sacra- 
ments with  which  that  Church  had  in  its  outset  been  endowed  ;  the  ten  horns 
are  the  ten  commandments.  As  long  as  the  Church  was  faithful  to  her 
Spouse,  she  had  the  moral  strength  which  came  from  those  gifts  and  the 
Divine  Law  which  she  represented  [Pet.  Dant.  in  Scart.).  When  that  failed, 
she  became  as  a  harlot,  and  her  whoredom  with  kings  was  the  symbol  of  her 
alliance  with  secular  powers  for  the  oppression  of  the  nations.  Comp.  C.  i.  too. 

112  An  echo  of  Hos.  viii.  4. 

11*  The  words  imply  the  mediaeval  legend  of  the  donation  of  Constantine, 
on  which  Dante  dwells  in  Mon.  ii.  12,  iii.  10.  The  Emperor,  it  was  said, 
had  been  cleansed  from  leprosy  by  Pope  Sylvester  II.,  and  as  a  thank- 
offering  transferred  Rome  and  its  adjacent  territory  to  the  Papal  See  (comp. 
C.  xxvii.  94).  The  so-called  donation  was  published  with  the  false  decretals 
by  the  pseudo-Isidore.  Its  spuriousness  was  first  exposed  by  Lorenzo 
Valla  (see  DoUinger,  Die  Papst-fabeln  des  Mittelaiiers,  p.  52).  The 
passage  is  memorable  as  having  been  quoted  by  Milton  in  his  Re/ormation 
in  England. 

117  From  Dante's  standpoint  Constantine  might  give  territory,  but  could 
not  alienate  one  jot  or  tittle  of  imperial  prerogative  {Mon.  iii.  10). 
134 


HELL  CANTO  XX 

Then  both  his  arms  around  me  he  did  twist, 

And  when  he  had  me  fast  upon  his  breast,  "* 

Retraced  our  downward  path,  nor  footstep  missed  ; 

Nor  was  he  with  that  weight  of  mine  oppressed, 
But  to  the  summit  of  the  arch  did  bear. 
Where  the  fourth  dike  upon  the  fifth  doth  rest. 

Gently  he  laid  his  burden  from  him  there,  ^^ 

Gently  upon  the  rugged  rock  and  steep. 
Which  wild  goats  would  have  found  it  hard  to  clear  : 

Then  was  disclosed  another  valley  deep. 


CANTO  XX 

The  Fourth  Eolgia — The  Soothfayers — Amphiarans  and  Others 

Now  of  new  torments  must  my  verses  tell. 
Which  to  the  twentieth  canto  subject  lent 
Of  this  first  poem  of  those  plunged  in  Hell  ; 

Already  was  I  gazing,  all  intent. 

To  look  all  down  the  pit  that  open  lay,  * 

All  bathed  in  tears  of  anguish  and  lament. 

Through  the  round  vale  I  saw  a  people  stray. 
Silent  and  weeping,  and  with  solemn  pace. 
Like  litany  processions,  wend  their  way. 

And  as  my  glance  went  farther  down  in  space,  '° 

Each  seemed  to  me  distorted  wondrously 
From  the  chest  upwards  even  to  the  face  ; 

124  The  ever-recurring  tenderness  of  Virgil  in  supporting  the  pilgrim  over 
rough  places  may  be  only  a  touch  of  the  poet's  personal  affection  for  him, 
but  probably  it  is  also  a  symbol  of  the  light  and  strength  which  he  had 
found  in  Virgil's  teaching  when  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  weighed 
heavily  on  his  mind.  His  "  feet  had  well  nigh  slipped,"  when  some  lines 
from  the  ^neid  came  to  his  mind  and  kept  him  steadfast. 

I  The  new  torments  are  those  of  the  fourth  Bolgia,  the  prison  of  the 
soothsayers.  The  "  litany  processions  "  may,  like  C.  xviii.  28,  be  a  remin- 
iscence of  the  jubilee  at  Rome,  but  the  sight  was,  of  course,  a  common  one 
throughout  Italy.  The  application  of  the  term  Canzon,  commonly  used  by 
Dante  of  shorter  poems,  to  each  part  of  the  Contm.  is  worth  noting. 

II  The  symbolism  is  obvious.     Th  se  who  had  sought  by  unlawful  means 


HELL  •  CANTO  XX 

For  to  the  reins  each  looked  with  back-turned  eye. 
And  could  not  help  but  he  must  backward  go, 
For  none  what  lay  before  him  could  espy.  '* 

It  may  be  that  by  palsy's  withering  blow 
Some  have  been  turned  in  fashion  as  I  saw  ; 
But  I  ne'er  knew,  nor  deem  it  can  be  so. 

If  God  shall  grant  thee.  Reader  dear,  to  draw 

Due  fruit  from  what  thou  readest,  think  how  I         *" 
Could  dry-eyed  look  upon  that  doom  of  awe, 

When  this  our  human  shape  I  saw  come  nigh. 
So  twisted  that  the  tears  their  eyes  did  weep 
Fell  down  the  spine,  nor  left  the  haunches  dry. 

Certes  I  wept,  and  leant  against  the  steep  ^ 

Of  the  hard  rock,  so  that  to  me  my  Guide 
Said,  "Art  thou  still  as  those  whose  wit  doth  sleep  ? 

Here  piety  lives  when  pity's  self  hath  died. 
Who  is  more  sunk  in  wickedness  than  he 
Whom,  from  God's  judgment,  passion  turns  aside  ?  ^ 

Lift  up  thy  head,  lift  up  ;  yon  sufferer  see. 

For  whom  earth  in  the  Thebans'  sight  oped  wide  ; 
Wherefore  all  cried,  '  Ah  !  whither  dost  thou  flee, 

Amphiaraos  ?     Why  from  war  dost  hide  ? ' 

He,  till  he  reached  the  bottom,  never  stayed,  ^ 

Where  Minos  sits,  by  whom  each  soul  is  tried. 

to  look  too  far  ahead,  and  had  been  full  of  "great  swelling  words  of 
vanity,"  are  condemned  to  look  behind  them,  not  seeing  their  own  way, 
and  to  walk  in  perpetual  silence. 

21  The    words  find  a  distinct  echo  in  Milton,  P.  L.  xi.  494. 

28  The  double  meaning  of  the  Italian //Vi«  (reproduced  in  Par.  iv.  105)  is 
scarcely  reproducible  in  English.  The  thought  is  the  keynote  to  all  that 
most  startles  us  in  the  Inferno.     The  mind  that  cannot  accept  the  Divine 

Eunishment  of  evil  is  not  rightly  trained  in  the  discipline  of  the  Divine 
oliness,  and  the  thought  that  the  punishment  was  for  the  great  mass  of 
mankind  simply  retributive  was,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  the  dominant 
thought  of  mediseval,  as  it  has  since  been  of  Protestant,  theology. 

34  Amphiaraus,  like  Capaneus  (C.  xiv.  63),  was  one  of  the  "  Seven 
against  Thebes,"  and  Dante's  knowledge  of  them  comes  from  the  same 
source,  chiefly  from  Statins.  Knowing  by  his  divinations  that  the  siege 
would  be  fatal  to  him,  he  hid  himself;  but  his  retreat  was  betrayed  to 
Polynices  by  his  wife  Eriphyle,  and  he  was  forced  to  join  in  the  attack.  A 
thunderbolt  struck  him ;  the  earth  opened  and  he  was  swallowed  up  (Stat. 
136 


HELL  CANTO  XX 

See  for  a  breast  he  has  his  shoulders  made  ; 
For  since  he  sought  to  see  too  far  before, 
He  looks  behind,  and  walks  with  backward  tread. 

See,  too,  Tiresias,  who  changed  semblance  bore,  *° 

When  he,  from  male,  a  female  form  did  gain, 
And  every  limb  in  altered  fashion  wore  ; 

And  he  had  need  to  strike  the  serpents  twain 

With  that  his  rod,  when  they  were  all  entwined. 
Ere  he  man's  special  plumes  could  wear  again.  *" 

To  his  paunch  Aruns  turns  his  parts  behind. 
Who  in  the  hills  of  Luni,  where  they  plough 
Who  'neath  Carrara's  rocks  their  dwelling  find, 

Had  a  wide  cave  within  the  white  rock's  brow. 

And  in  it  dwelt,  nor  failed  him  then  the  sight  ^ 

Of  stars  of  heaven  and  great  sea's  waves  below. 

And  she  who  hides  her  bosom  from  the  light 
With  tresses  loose,  so  that  thou  see'st  no  more. 
Who  on  that  side  with  hair  is  covered  quite, 

Manto  she  is,  who  many  a  land  roamed  o'er,  ^ 

And  came  at  last  to  rest  where  I  was  born  : 
Wherefore  I  wish  that  thou  shouldst  hear  my  lore. 

After  her  father's  life  was  spent  and  worn. 
And  Bacchus'  city  tasted  slavery. 
Long  time  she  wandered  through  the  world  forlorn.  ®° 

TAei.  vii.  690-823).  The  cry  of  the  Thebans  connects  that  catastrophe 
tauntingly  with  his  former  concealment. 

*"  The  story  of  the  change  of  sex  in  Tiresias  is  found  in  Ovid.  Metant.  iii. 
320-345.  He  passed  from  man  to  woman  on  striking  with  his  rod  two 
serpents  that  were  entwined  together.  Seven  years  afterwards  he  regained 
his  manhood  by  a  like  process. 

46  Aruns  appears  in  Lucan  (i.  586)  as  an  Etruscan  seer  who  foretold  the 
war  between  Caesar  and  Pompeius  and  the  triumph  of  the  former.  Luni  is 
the  city  in  the  Carrara  region  which  gives  its  name  to  the  district  of  the 
Lunigiana,  the  territory  of  the  Malaspini,  one  of  whom,  Moroello,  was 
Dante's  friend  and  host. 

55  In  the  story  of  Manto  we  have  a  long  and  detailed  legend  of  which  no 
trace  has  been  found  in  any  classical  or  mediaeval  writer.  The  poet  was 
obviously  attracted  to  the  legend  by  its  connection  with  Mantua  as  the 
birthplace  of  Virgil.  Virgil  himself  (^».  x.  198-201)  makes  Ocnus,  the  son 
of  Manto,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Tiresias,  the  founder  of  the  city.  In 
Purg.  xxii.  H3,  curiously  enough,  Dante  places  the  daughter  of  Tiresias 
137 


HELL  CANTO  XX 

A  lake  there  is  in  our  fair  Italy 

At  the  Alp's  foot  that  shuts  Lamagna  in, 
Benaco,  where  the  Tyrol  low  doth  lie. 

By  thousand  streams  and  more  the  Apennine, 

I  trow,  is  bathed,  which  in  the  lake  are  pent  " 

Camonica  and  Garda's  bounds  within  ; 

A  place  there  is  midway  where  he  of  Trent 
Chief  Shepherd,  and  Verona's,  Brescia's  too, 
Might  each  give  blessing  if  that  way  he  went ; 

There  Peschiera's  fortress,  bulwark  true  *• 

To  face  the  strength  of  them  of  Bergamo 

And  Brescia,  where  a  lower  shore  we  view  ; 

There  needs  must  be  that  all  the  waters  go. 
Which  fair  Benaco's  bosom  fails  to  hold, 
And  through  green  pastures  like  a  river  flow.  ^•' 

Soon  as  the  current  leaves  its  channel  old. 
No  more  Benaco,  Mincio  is  it  styled. 
Till  at  Governo  with  the  Po  'tis  rolled  ; 

(Stat.  Theb.  iv,  463)  in  the  limbus  of  C.  iv.     The  city  of  Bacchus  is  Thebes, 
which  after  the  defeat  of  the  Seven  came  under  the  power  of  Creon. 

61  The  description  speaks  of  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  whole  of 
the  Benaco  (=  Lago  di  Garda)  district.  Lamagna  =  Germany.  Garda, 
which  now  gives  its  name  to  the  lake,  is  on  its  right  hand  in  the  Veronese 
territory.  The  Apennino  (with  v.  I.  Pennine)  has  but  the  coincidence  of 
name  with  the  Apennine  chain  that  forms  the  backbone  of  Italy.  The  Val 
Camonica  is  one  of  the  greatest  valleys  of  Lombardy,  more  than  fifty  miles 
in  length,  and  runs  from  the  ridge  of  Tonale  to  Bormio,  ending  in  the  lake 
Iseo.  The  limits  of  the  Apennine  given  include  great  part  of  the  hill 
country  east  of  the  lake. 

67  The  spot  Is  further  defined  from  an  intimate  local  knowledge  as  being 
the  meeting  point  of  the  dioceses  of  the  Bishops  of  Trent,  Brescia,  and 
Verona ;  probably  the  island  Isola  de'  Frati,  near  the  point  of  Manerba,  or 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Tignalgar. 

70  Peschiera,  then,  as  in  later  times,  one  of  the  great  fortresses  of  the 
Lombard  quadrilateral.  At  the  time  when  Dante  wrote,  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  his  patron,  C^n  Grande  of  Verona,  and  hence  the  significance  of  his 
speaking  of  it  as  defying  Brescia  and  Bergamo,  who  were  allied  against 
him.  Peschiera  stands  near  the  lower  end  of  the  lake.  Below  this,  the 
name  Benaco  is  lost,  and  the  Mincio  flows  out  of  the  lake,  and  forms  three 
artificial  lakes,  separated  from  each  other  by  embankments  and  connected 
by  bridges,  that  encompass  the  present  city  of  Mantua.  After  this  it  again 
flows  on  as  the  Lower  Mincio,  and  flows  into  the  Po  at  Govemolo.  It  is 
obvious  that  such  a  scene  niay  have  presented  the  idea  of  the  arrangement 
of  Malebolge  (xviii.  1-18).  Of  the  historical  associations  connected  with 
the  meeting  of  Attila  and  Pope  Leo  I.  at  Mantua,  Dante  says  nothing. 
138 


HELL  CANTO  XX 

Nor  far  it  runs  before  a  low  waste  wild 

It  finds,  and  spreads  into  a  marshy  lake,  * 

And  taints  the  summer  with  its  mists  defiled. 

There  saw  the  ruthless  maid,  as  she  did  take 
Her  way,  a  field  where  never  passed  the  share. 
In  the  mid-marsh,  where  none  their  home  did  make; 

There,  that  her  life  apart  from  men  might  fare,  ^ 

She  with  her  servants  lived  to  work  her  art. 
And  left  untenanted  her  carcase  there. 

Then  men  who,  scattered  round,  had  dwelt  apart, 
Were  gathered  to  that  place,  defended  well 
By  the  wide  swamp  that  girt  its  every  part,  •" 

O'er  her  dead  bones  they  reared  their  citadel, 
And,  for  her  sake  who  first  did  choose  the  place. 
As  fittest  name,  their  choice  on  Mantua  fell. 

Of  old  they  were  a  far  more  crowded  race, 

Ere  Casalodi's  blindness  had  received  •" 

From  Pinamonte's  fraud  such  sore  disgrace  ; 

Therefore  I  warn  thee,  lest  thou  be  deceived. 
If  otherwise  my  city's  birth  be  told 
For  truth  let  no  such  falsehood  be  believed." 

And  I :  "  O  Master,  of  such  worth  I  hold  "" 

Those  words  of  thine,  and  so  my  faith  they  gain, 
All  else  to  me  were  but  as  embers  cold. 

But  of  the  tribe  that  passes,  tell  me  plain 
If  thou  see'st  any  worthy  special  note  ; 
Only  for  that  would  I  attention  strain."  "^ 

Said  he  to  me,  "  See  him  who  from  his  throat 
Lets  fall  his  beard  upon  his  shoulders  swarth  ; 
When  Greece  of  old  sent  all  her  males  afloat, 

S8  The  story  as  told  by  chroniclers  {Murat.  xx.  722,  in  Scart.)  is  that  the 
Casalodi  were  Guelph  counts  and  lords  of  Mantua  ;  that  Pinamonte  de' 
Buonacorsi,  a  Mantuan,  alarmed  th=  Count  Albert  with  rumours  of  con- 
spiracies, persuaded  him  to  take  oppressive  measures  of  precaution,  and  then 
went  among  the  Mantuans  and  stirred  them  to  a  revolt,  which  ended  in  the 
exnulsion  of  the  Count. 

99  The  special  attestation  is  perhaps  emphasised  on  accoun  of  the  dis- 
crepancy already  noticed  between  the  stories  of  the  ^neid  and  the  In/tmo 
as  to  Mantua. 

139 


HELL  CANTO  XX 

And  empty  cradles  mourned  their  children's  dearth, 
He  was  an  augur,  and  with  Calchas  told,  "** 

In  Aulis,  when  the  first  rope  should  leave  earth — 

Eurypylus  his  name  ;  and  so  of  old 

My  lofty  drama  sings  in  certain  place  ; 

Thou  know'st  it  well,  whose  mind  the  whole  doth  hold. 

That  other  there,  whose  ribs  fill  scanty  space,  "* 

Was  Michael  Scott,  who  truly  full  well  knew 
Of  magical  deceits  the  illusive  grace. 

Guido  Bonatti,  yea,  Asdente  too 

Thou  see'st,  who  now  would  fain  the  thong  and  thread 
Have  plied — too  late  he  doth  his  folly  rue.  '^° 

Those  wretched  ones  thou  see'st,  who  needle  fled, 
And  spool  and  spindle,  witches  to  become. 
With  herbs  and  idols  their  profane  art  sped. 

112  Eurypylus  appears  in  conjunction  with  Calchas  in  the  tale  of  Sinon,  in 
yffw.  ii.  113,  as  a  Greek  soothsayer. 

116  Michael  Scott  {d.  1290).  (Jver  and  above  the  local  legends  which  the 
Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  has  made  familiar  to  most  English  readers,  the 
name  of  the  great  Scotch  wizard  had  not  a  few  points  of  contact  with  parts 
of  Italian  history  in  which  Dante  would  feel  much  interest.  He  prophesied 
the  fortunes  of  Can  Grande  {Vill.  x.  101,  148)  ;  he  practised  astrology  at  the 
Court  of  Frederick  II.  at  Bologna  (Jac.  della  Cana)  ;  he  foretold  the  decline 
and  fall  of  Florence — "  JVon  diu  stabit  stolida  Flitrentia  florum." — Scart. 
The  date  of  his  death  makes  it  possible  that  Dante  may  have  met  him.  At 
any  rate,  his  fame  would  have  lingered  at  Bologna,  probably  also  at  Paris 
and  Oxford,  when  Dante  studied  in  those  cities.  It  may  be  noted  further, 
(i)  that  he  was  befriended  by  Gregory  IX.  ;  (2)  that  Fabonacci,  the  great 
mathematician  of  the  i^th  century,  dedicated  a  treatise  to  him  ;  (3)  that  he 
studied  at  Oxford,  Paris,  and  Toledo,  and  made  translations  from  Averrhoes ; 
(4)  that  Pope  Honorius  gave  him  leave  to  hold  two  benefices  in  England 
{Kington,  li.  283,  441,  449-451).  Roger  Bacon,  on  the  other  hand,  speaks 
scornfully  of  him  as  a  pretender  to  science,  and  this  may  have  influenced 
Dante's  judgment  {0/>.  Tert.  i.  25).     Comp.  Phil,  in  loc. 

118  Of  the  two  whose  memory  survives  chiefly  in  this  line,  Guido  Bonatti 
was  an  astrologer  of  Forii  of  the  13th  century,  consulted  mainly  by  Count 
Guido  di  Montefeltro  and  other  Ghibelline  leaders,  whose  plans  were  said  to 
have  been  guided  by  him  to  a  successful  issue.  He  wrote  a  treatise  on 
astrology  which  was  much  studied  even  by  women  {Murat,  xxii.  150, 
233-237,  in  Scart.).  Asdente,  "the  cobbler  of  Parma,"  as  he  is  called  in 
Conv.  iv.  16,  is  there  named  incidentally,  as  illustrating  the  difference 
between  notoriety  and  true  fame.  Line  119  seems  like  a  literal  application 
of  the  familiar  proverb  Ne  sutor  ultra  crepida7n.  Possibly  it  had  vexed  the 
soul  of  the  poet  to  find  the  fame  of  the  cobbler- wizard  overshadowing  his 
own. 

121  The  witches  thus  described,  true  descendants  of  the  Canidia  of  Horace 
{Epgd.  v.),  were  to  be  found  in  every  town  and  village  in  Italy.  The  modus 
140 


HELL  CANTO  XXI 

But  now  come  on,  for  hastens  to  his  home 

Cain  with  his  thorns,  where  meet  each  hemisphere,  '^^ 
And  by  Seviglia  dips  in  ocean's  foam. 

And  lo  !  last  night  the  moon  did  round  appear ; 
Well  shouldst  thou  mind  it,  for  it  served  not  ill 
Ofttimes  thy  wanderings  through  the  forest  drear." 

So  spake  he  to  me,  aiid  we  went  on  still.  '*" 


CANTO  XXI 

The  Fifth  Bolgia — The  Peculators — The  Ancient  of  Santa 
Zita — The  Pranks  of  the  Demons 

So  on  from  bridge  to  bridge,  discussing  theme 
Of  which  my  Comedy  cares  not  to  tell. 
We  went ;  and  when  we  gained  the  point  extreme. 

There  did  we  pause  to  view  another  dell 

Of  Malebolge,  and  more  wailings  vain,  * 

And  saw  a  wondrous  darkness  o'er  it  dwell. 

As  when  Venetian  ships  in  dock  remain. 
The  clammy  pitch  boils  up  in  winter-tide 
To  fit  their  unsound  hulls  for  sea  again  ; 

operandi  had  been  handed  down  from  a  remote  prehistoric  past.  Mould  a 
waxen  image  to  represent  the  person  over  whom  the  spell  is  to  be  cast : 
prick  it  with  pins,  or  let  it  melt  slowly  before  a  fire,  and  pain  and  wasting 
will  be  the  victim's  portion.  The  "  herbs  "  imply  love-potions,  or  the  reverse. 
Practically  such  women  often  carried  on  a  direct  trade  in  poisoning. 

125  The  two  heiriispheres,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  Dante's  cosmography 
were  those  of  which  Jerusalem  and  the  Mount  of  Purgatory  were  respectively 
the  centres. 

127  The  dark  spots  on  the  moon— the  "man  in  the  moon"  of  popular 
English  speech — were  in  the  Middle  Age  legends  of  Italy  the  image  of 
Cain  holding  a  burning  bush,  and  condemned,  as  in  Gen.  iv.  12,  to  perpetual 
wandering.  The  legend  is  noticed  also  in  Par.  ii.  51 ;  Conv.  ii.  14.  The  setting 
of  the  moon  beyond  Seville  (one  notes,  as  in  C.  xi.  113-115,  the  display  of 
astronomical  accuracy)  indicates  the  hour  before  sunrise  on  the  second  day  of 
the  pilgrimage,  reckoning  from  the  full  moon. 

1  We  enter  on  the  fifth  Bolgia  of  the  eighth  circle,  and  find  ourselves 
among  the  givers  and  takers  of  bribes.  Ruskin  {F.  C.  xviii.  11)  sees  in  the 
boiling  pitch  the  symbol  of  the  money  in  which  corruption  finds  its  motive 
and  its  home,  clinging  to,  and  defiling  everything. 

'  The  old  arsenal  of  Venice  (the  word  is  traced  to  the  Arabic  darfanah  = 
141 


HELL  CANTO    XXI 

They  cannot  put  to  sea,  so  there  abide  ;  ^° 

One  mends  the  timber,  and  one  caulks  anew 
The  ribs  of  ship  that  many  a  sea  has  tried. 

There  one  the  stem  and  one  the  stern  drives  through, 
Some  fashion  oars  and  some  the  cordage  twine, 
The  mainsail  or  the  mizen  some  renew  ;  ^^ 

So,  not  by  fire,  but  by  a  skill  divine, 

Thick  viscid  pitch  seethes  ever  there  below, 
Which  as  with  birdlime  all  the  bank  did  line. 

I  looked  on  it,  but  no  more  saw  I  so 

Than  bubbles  which  the  boiling  drove  on  high  ;      ^ 
First  swelling  out,  and  then  collapsing  low. 

While  I,  with  downward  gazing,  turned  mine  eye, 
My  Guide,  crying  out  to  me,  "  Beware  !   beware  !  " 
Drew  me  to  him  from  where  I  stood  hard  by  ; 

And  then  I  turned,  as  one  who  longs  to  dare  ^ 

To  gaze  on  what  behoveth  him  to  flee. 
Yet  stands  unmanned  by  terror  unaware. 

Who  slacketh  not  his  flight  through  wish  to  see  ; 
And  then  behind  I  saw  a  demon  black 
Come  running  on  the  crag  full  speedily.  ^ 

Ah  me  !   how  eager  was  he  to  attack  ! 

How  bitter  seemed  he  to  me  in  his  deed  ! 
With  open  wings,  and  on  his  feet  not  slack. 

His  shoulders,  high  and  curved,  were  sharp  indeed, 
And  bore  a  sinner  with  his  legs  astride,  ^ 

And  grasping  both  his  feet  did  he  proceed, 

house  of  industry  ;  Diez.  Etym.  Worterb.  3rd  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  34),  constructed 
in  1 104,  fortified  with  walls  and  towers,  was  one  of  the  most  famous  in 
Europe  in  the  13th  century.  There  were  constructed  the  galleys  which 
were  the  strength  of  the  Venetian  navy.  The  picture  is  obviously  drawn 
from  life,  probably  at  the  time  of  Dante's  visit  to  Venice  in  1314.  We  have 
seen  in  C.  xix.  80  that  this  portion  of  the  Inferno  was  at  least  revised  after 
that  date.  May  we  think  of  Marco  Polo  as  taking  the  poet  to  see  what  was 
to  him  the  most  interesting  scene  in  Venice?    Comp.  note  on  C.  xvii.  17. 

35  We  enter  on  the  most  grotesque  of  all  the  scenes  of  the  In/emo,  the 
pantomime,  as  it  were,  of  Hell.  That  grotesqueness  was,  it  need  not  be 
said  (see  note  on  C.  v.  4),  essentially  media:val,  and  was  probably  repro- 
duced from  some  of  the  dramatic  mysteries  which  were  then  common 
throughout  £urope,  and  of  which  the  memorable  performance  on  the  Ponte 
142 


HELL  CANTO  XXI 

"  Ho,  Malebranche,  of  our  bridge,"  he  cried, 
"  Lo  !  here  of  Santa  Zita's  Ancients  one  ; 
Plunge  him  down  there  till  I  once  more  have  hied 

Back  to  that  land,  which  with  them  is  o'errun :  *" 

All,  save  Bonturo,  are  corrupters  there. 
And  No  is  turned  to  Yes  by  base  pence  won." 

He  flung  him  down,  and  on  the  hard  rock  bare 
He  turned,  and  never  ma&tilT  unleashed  sped 
With  steps  so  swift  the  hunted  thief  to  tear.  *^ 

The  other  sank,  then  rose  with  downward  head. 
And  then  the  demons  whom  the  bridge  did  hide 
Cried,  "Here  no  Holy  Face  is  worshipped  ; 

Carraia  at  Florence  in  1304  was  a  conspicuous  instance.  I  have  thought 
it  best  to  keep  the  Italian  names  of  the  demon  actors,  and  will  content  myself 
with  indicating  their  meaning.  Malebranche  =  Evil-claws  ;  Malacoda  = 
Evil-tail ;  Scarmiglione  =  Lacerator ;  Alichino  =  Wing-drooper ;  Calcabrina  = 
Trample-snow  (snow  or  hoar-frost,  probably  in  irony  for  the  boiling  pitch): 
Barbarjccia  =  Ugly-beard  ;  Cagnazzo  =  Dog-face  ;  Libicocco  =  Devil-moor  ; 
Draghinazzo  =  Dragon-face  ;  Ciriatto  =  Swine-face  ;  Graf}!acane  =  Grappler  ; 
Farfarello=  Brawler;  Rubicante  =  Ruddy-face.  These  are  the  dramatis 
persona  of  the  strange  burlesque  drama  that  follows. 

^  The  "ancients"  (anziani)  were  at  Lucca  what  the  Priori  were  at 
Florence,  an  elective  magistracy  representing  the  five  ''regions"  of  the  city. 
The  offender,  not  named,  was  probably  sufficiently  indicated  by  this  descrip- 
tion. Santa  Zita  (d.  1278)  was  the  heroine-saint  whom  Lucca  had  chosen  as 
its  patron.  A  story  which  makes  her,  as  it  were,  the  Pamela  of  the  13th 
century  (Zita = maidservant)  had  led  to  her  being  venerated  as  a  saint  prior 
to  her  formal  canonisation  {Amp.  pp.  243-250).  The  ton-b  of  the  saint  is  in 
the  Church  of  St.  Frediano.  On  the/esta  of  the  saint  her  mummy  is  exposed 
and  her  shrine  visited  by  every  maidservant  in  Lucca,  each  offering  a  nose- 
gay {Hare,  ii.  499) 

■^^  No  contemporary  records  speak  of  Bonturo  Dati  as  corrupt  in  office, 
and  the  statements  of  early  commentators  are  too  apt  to  be  simply  built 
upon  their  text.  What  is  known  of  him  is  that  he  took  a  prominent  part  in 
a  quarrel  between  Lucca  and  Pisa  in  1314,  and  that  he  was  therefore  living 
when  Dante  wrote.  The  grim  irony  of  the  exception  reminds  one  of  Person's 
epigram — "All  except  Hermann;  and  he  too's  a  German."  Dante,  it  may 
be  noted,  had  sojourned  in  Lucca  in  1314  for  some  months.  The  incisive 
condemnation  of  corruption  {baratterid)  was  perhaps  emphasised  by  the  fact 
that  this  was  the  very  charge  on  which  Dante  himself  had  been  wrongfully 
condemned. 

48  The  "holy  face  "  was  the  head  of  the  Christ  on  a  wooden  crucifix,  said 
to  have  been  the  work  of  angel  hands,  who  finished  what  had  been  begun  by 
Nicodemus.  It  was  the  great  relic  of  Lucca.  Men  swore  by  it  (it  was  the 
favourite  oath  of  William  Rufus)and  cried  to  it  for  help  ;  and  the  point  of 
the  taunt  is  that  that  cry  is  profitless  in  Hell.  The  crucifix,  a  work  of  early 
Byzantine  art,  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Duomo  of  Lucca  {Amp.  1.  c. ;  Hare, 
ii.  495).  The  Serchio,  a  river  outside  the  walls  of  Lucca,  was  the  common 
batiiing-p'ace  of  its  citizens. 


HELL  CANTO  XXI 

Far  other  swimming  this  than  Serchio's  tide  ; 

Therefore,  unless  thou  seek'st  our  hooks  to  taste,     ^ 
Take  heed  thou  rise  not  from  the  pitch  outside." 

Then  him  with  more  than  hundred  hooks  they  chased, 
And  said,  "  Here  covered  thou  thy  dance  must  take, 
And,  if  thou  canst,  for  secret  pilfering  haste." 

Not  otherwise  do  cooks  their  scullions  make  ^ 

Thrust  flesh  half  down  the  caldron  with  their  prong. 
Lest  it  should  through  the  seething  surface  break. 

"That  thou  appear  not  here,"  my  Master's  tongue 
Spake  to  me,  "  crouch  thou  here  behind  a  rock. 
That  so  its  shadow  o'er  thee  may  be  flung  ;  ®° 

And  let  no  outrage  offered  to  me  shock 

Or  cause  thee  fear  ;  all  these  things  have  I  known  : 
Long  time  ago  I  met  this  scuffling  flock." 

Then  passed  he  from  the  bridge's  topmost  stone. 

And  as  towards  the  sixth  bank  he  drew  near,  ^ 

'Twas  meet  his  face  should  be  as  tranquil  shown. 

Then  with  the  furious  rage  and  madness  sheer 
With  which  upon  a  beggar  dogs  rush  on. 
Who  on  a  sudden  halts  and  asks  alms  there. 

So  from  beneath  the  bridge  they  rushed  each  one,       '" 
And  turned  against  him  every  grappling  hook. 
But  he  cried  out,  "  Let  ill-intent  be  none  ! 

Before  ye  seize  me  with  your  torturing  crook. 
Let  one  among  you  forward  come  and  hear  ; 
Then  let  him,  ere  he  seize,  for  counsel  look."  ^^ 

"  Let  Malacoda,"  they  all  cried,  "  appear." 

Then  one  came  forward  while  the  rest  stood  by. 
And  as  he  came  he  said,  "  What  good  is  here } " 

65-139  It  does  not  seem  expedient  to  annotate  the  details  of  the  wild  drama 
that  follows.  Briefly,  the  demons,  as  before,  try  to  resist  the  progress  of  the 
pilgrims.  Virgil  interposes  to  warn  them  (as  he  had  warned  Charon,  C.  iii. 
05)  that  it  is  useless  to  resist  the  will  of  Heaven,  and  Dante,  who  had  hid 
himself  in  terror,  comes  forth  reassured,  and  the  chief  of  the  demons  sends 
the  travellers  with  an  escort.  The  fiend-pictures  of  the  elder  Teniers  (Visions 
of  St.  Antony  and  the  like)  give  one  some  notion  of  what  was  before  the  poet's 
inward  eye. 

144 


HELL  .  CANTO  XXI 

"What,  Malacoda  !   thinkest  thou  that  I 

Thus  far  have  ventured,"  then  my  Master  said,        ^ 
"Till  now  secure  from  all  the  tricks  you  try, 

Without  God's  will,  and  fate  propitious  made  ? 
Let  me  pass  on  ;  another,  so  wills  Heaven, 
By  me  must  through  this  wildered  way  be  led." 

Then  to  his  haughty  mood  a  shock  was  given,  ^" 

So  that  his  hook  he  let  fall  at  his  feet, 
Then  to  the  rest,  "  Now  let  him  not  be  driven." 

And  then  my  Guide  :  "  O  thou  who  hast  thy  seat. 
Squat,  squat  among  the  crags  that  bridge  the  pit. 
Now  may'st  thou  safely  stir  thee  me  to  meet."         ^ 

And  then  I  rose  and  quick  to  him  did  flit. 
So  fiercely  then  the  devils  rushed  on  me, 
I  feared  they  would  some  breach  of  faith  commit. 

Thus  full  of  fear  I  once  those  troops  did  see 

Who  from  Caprona  issued,  treaty-bound,  ^* 

When  all  around  they  saw  the  enemy. 

I  to  the  spot  then  turned  myself  full  round, 
Where  stood  my  Guide,  nor  did  I  lift  mine  eye 
From  off  their  face,  which  far  from  kind  I  found. 

They  lowered  their  hooks,  and  "  Will  ye  that  I  try    "* 
To  grab  his  hip  ? "  one  to  the  others  cried. 
"  Yes,  see  thou  nick  him  well,"  they  made  reply. 

And  then  that  demon  who  with  my  good  Guide 
Discourse  had  held,  all  suddenly  turned  round 
And  said,  "  Peace,  peace,  Scarmiglion,  quiet  bide  ;"  ^*® 

Then  spake  to  us,  "  No  further  path  is  found 
Here  on  this  rock,  for  there  the  sixth  arch  lies. 
All  crushed  and  shattered  in  the  depth  profound. 


9*  A  distinctly  personal  reminiscence.  Caprona  was  a  fortress  of  the 
Pisans  taken  by  the  troops  of  Florence  and  Lucca  in  1289.  In  the  expedition 
Dante,  then  twenty-four,  took  part.  The  holders  of  the  fortress  had  capitu- 
lated on  terms  which  secured  their  lives,  but  the  poet  recalled  their  frightened 
looks  when  they  came  out  of  the  gates  and  saw  themselves  in  the  middle  of 
their  foes  (Buti  in  Scart.).  Such,  he  says,  was  hi  look  as  he  came  out  of  his 
hiding-place. 

145  K 


HELL  .  CANTO  XXI 

But  if  to  advance  be  pleasing  in  your  eyes, 

Upon  this  bank  of  stone  pursue  your  way  ;  "" 

Another  rock  is  near  which  path  supplies. 

Five  hours  beyond  this  same  hour  yesterday, 

Twelve  hundred  threescore  years  and  six  complete 
Did  make,  since  here  the  path  in  ruins  lay. 

I  send  in  that  direction  comrades  meet  "^ 

To  see  if  any  doth  himself  upraise  ; 
Go  on  with  them  ;  they  will  not  you  maltreat. 

Come  Alichino,  Calcabrina,"  says 

He  then  to  them,  "and  thou  Cagnazzo  too, 

Let  Barbariccia  show  the  ten  their  ways  ;  ■*-" 

Come,  Draghinazzo,  Libicocc',  to  view, 
Ciriatto  with  his  tusks,  and  Graffiacan, 
Mad  Rubicant  and  Farfarell,  come  you  ! 

Upon  the  boiling  pitch  look  well  and  scan  ; 

Let  these  in  safety  to  the  next  crag  go,  '^ 

Which  all  unbroken  doth  the  deep  dens  span." 

"  Ah  me  !  my  Master,"  said  I  to  him  ;  "  lo  1 
What  see  I  ?     Let  us  guideless  go  alone. 
If  thou  know'st  how  ;  none  for  myself,  I  trow, 

I  ask,  if  still  thy  wonted  skill  is  shown.  ^^ 

Dost  thou  not  see  them  how  their  teeth  they  grind. 
And  with  their  eyebrows  threaten  us  with  woe  ?  " 

And  he  to  me  :  "  Be  not  of  fearful  mind  ; 

Let  them  go  on  and  gnash  their  teeth  at  will  ; 
Their  victims  they  among  those  boiled  ones  find."  "'' 

On  the  left  dike  they  wheeled,  but  not  until 

Each  had  thrust  out  his  tongue  between  his  teeth, 
And  to  their  leader  made  their  signal  ill. 

While  trumpet  notes  from  his  back  parts  did  breathe. 

113  Another  reference  (see  C  iv.  35,  xii.  36)  to  the  descent  into  Hades,  the 
"  harrowing  of  Hell  "  of  our  early  English  writers,  assumed  to  coincide  with 
March  25  or  26  a.d.  34.  We  need  scarcely  embarrass  ourselves  with  the 
precise  hour  of  the  Crucifixion  and  the  death  which  they  imply.  What  may 
be  noted  is,  as  in  C.  xx.  126,  that  the  pilgrims  have  reached  the  morning  of 
the  Saturday  before  Easter  in  a.d.  1300. 

146 


HELL  CANTO  XXII 

The  Fifth  Bolgia—Cmmpoh — Friar  Gomita — Michael  Zanche 

I  HAVE  seen  knights  break  up  their  camp  for  war, 
Begin  the  attack,  and  march  in  full  array, 
And  sometimes  seek  a  safe  retreat  afar  ; 

I've  seen  the  vanguard  o'er  your  fair  fields  stray, 

Ye  Aretines  ;  yea,  seen  the  squadrons  wheel,  * 

And  now  in  jousts  and  now  in  tourneys  play. 

Now  with  bell's  chime  and  now  with  trumpet's  peal, 
With  drums  and  beacons  on  the  castle  wall. 
Our  use,  or  that  of  alien  commonweal  ; 

But  never  at  so  strange  a  bagpipe  call  ^^ 

Saw  I  or  horsemen  move  or  infantry. 
Or,  at  earth's  signs  or  star's,  a  good  ship  tall. 

With  those  ten  demons  we  our  course  did  ply  ; 
Fierce  company  were  they,  but  "in  the  church 
With  saints,  with  gluttons  to  the  hostelry."  ^' 

Then  to  the  pitch  did  I  direct  my  search. 
The  fashion  of  that  Bolgia  dark  to  see, 
And  of  the  crew  whom  that  fierce  fire  did  scorch. 


6  The  reference  to  Caprona  had  apparently  awakened  other  personal 
reminiscences  of  the  days  when  Dante,  then  in  the  flower  of  his  early  man- 
hood, had  fought  in  the  ranks  of  the  Florentines.  The  battle  referred  to  is 
probably  that  of  Campaldino  (1288),  at  the  outset  of  which  the  cavalry  of  the 
Aretines  were  victorious.  Eventually  the  Florentines  under  Vieri  de'  Cerchi 
rallied,  and  remained  masters  of  the  field  (Dinoj  c.  i.  ;  Vill.  vii.  124,  131 ; 
Faur.  i.  152).  It  adds  to  the  interest  of  the  reference  to  remember  (i)  that 
Dante's  friend  Guido  Cavalcanti  and  Bernardino  da  Polenta,  brother  of 
Francesca,  had  been  with  him  in  the  battle ;  (2)  that  Buonconte  di  Monte- 
feltro  had  been  slain  in  it  {Purg^.  v.  83) ;  (3)  that  a  letter  of  Uante's  is  extant 
in  which  he  speaks  of  his  "fear "at  the  beginning  of  the  battle,  and  his 
"joy"  in  the  victory  ( W^*'^.  86-88). 

9  The  "alien  "  usages  refer  probably  to  the  German  and  French  customs 
which,  under  the  influence  respectivfly  of  Frederick  II.  and  Charles  of 
Anjou,  had  mingled  with  the  traditional  tactics  and  equipments  of  the  native 
Italian  armies.  The  starting-point  and  goal  of  the  description  are  somewhat 
shocking  to  our  modem  refinement,  but  mediaeval  humour,  as,  e.g. ,  in  Chaucer, 
could  be  Rabelaisian  and  Aristophanic  {Nub.  164-166)  in  its  unshrinking 
breadth-  The  proverb  of  1.  14,  the  Italian  equivalent  of  like  proverbs  in 
well-nigh  all  languages  ("  When  at  Rome,  do  as  Rome  does,"  &c.),  reads 
almost  like  an  apologia  for  the  absence  of  all  the  conventional  dignity  of 
poetry. 


HELL  CANTO  XXII 

As  dolphins,  when  they  signal  give  at  sea 

To  sailors,  with  their  backs  all  arched  amain,  '" 

So  that  they  plan  how  best  the  storm  to  flee, 

So  then,  to  seek  some  respite  from  his  pain. 
One  of  those  sinners  did  his  back  upraise. 
And  quick  as  lightning  hid  himself  again. 

And  as  along  a  ditch's  watery  ways  ^s 

Are  seen  the  frogs  with  muzzles  all  thrust  out. 
So  that  their  feet  and  bulk  are  hid  from  gaze  ; 

So  stood  the  sinners  everywhere  about. 
But  soon  as  Barbariccia  near  them  drew, 
Beneath  the  boiling  pitch  they  fled  in  rout.  ^ 

I  saw,  and  still  the  horror  thrills  me  through. 
One  waiting  so,  as  sometimes  it  doth  chance 
One  frog  remains  while  others  dive  from  view. 

And  Grafiiacan,  who  nearest  did  advance. 

Seized  him  by  locks  all  pitch-besmeared  behind,      ^ 
And  dragged  him,  otter-like,  before  my  glance. 

Well  did  I  know  the  names  to  each  assigned. 
So  at  the  time  when  they  were  chosen,  I 
Did  note,  and  as  they  called  them,  bore  in  mind. 

"  Ho,  Rubicante,  see  that  thou  apply  *" 

Thy  talons  sharp  behind,  his  back  to  flay," 
Then  all  those  cursed  ones  aloud  did  cry. 

And  I  :  "  My  Master,  bid  them,  if  thou  may. 
To  let  thee  know  that  wretch  unfortunate. 
Thus  fallen  'neath  his  adversaries'  sway."  *^ 

My  Leader  then  drew  near  him  where  he  sate. 
And  asked  him  who  he  was,  and  he  replied, 
"  My  birth  was  in  Navarra's  kingly  state  ; 

19  The  comparison  implies  voyages  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  or  probably 
from  Calais  to  Dover.     Comp.  C.  xv.  4. 

36  The  grotesque  element  becomes  less  and  less  restrained,  and  I  will  not 
fnllow  it  in  its  details.  This  may  be  noted,  however,  that  even  in  our  own 
time,  and  in  the  work  of  a  master-poet,  Cardinal  Newman's  Dream  0/ 
Gerontius,  this  element  of  grotesqueness  appears  in  a  form  so  strikingly 
parallel,  in  all  but  coarseness,  with  Dante's  as  to  suggest  the  idea  of 
deliberate  reproduction,  though  in  this  case  it  has,  of  course,  no  foundation. 

^  The  earlier  commentators  give  the  name  of  the  victim  as  Ciampolo, 
148 


HELL  CANTO  XXII 

To  serve  a  lord  I  left  my  mother's  side. 

For  she  had  borne  me  to  a  ribald  vile,  ** 

Who  flung  himself  and  his  estate  aside. 
Then  served  I  in  good  Thibault's  court  awhile  ; 

There  to  deceit's  foul  sin  did  I  descend. 

And  in  this  hot  pitch  pay  for  that  my  guile." 
And  Ciriatto,  whose  huge  mouth  did  end  ^ 

On  either  side,  in  tusks  like  those  of  swine. 

Soon  made  him  feel  how  they  could  fiercely  rend. 
"  Among  wild  cats  the  mouse  came,"  runs  the  line. 

But  Barbariccia  while  he  him  embraced. 

Said  "Back,  till  with  my  fork  I  him  entwine."        ^ 
Then  thus,  as  turning,  he  my  Master  faced, 

"Ask  him,"  he  said,  "if  more  thou  seek'st  to 
know, 

Ere  yet  his  form  by  others  be  defaced." 
My  Guide  :  "  Of  that  vile  crew  I  pray  thee  show 

If  thou  dost  know  of  any  Latian  there,  ®' 

Beneath  the  pitch."    And  he  :  "Yea,  there  below 
I  left  but  now  one  born  that  region  near  ; 

Would  I  were  with  him,  covered  by  the  tar  ! 

For  then  nor  claw  nor  grapnel  would  I  fear." 
And  Libicocco,  "We  have  borne  too  far,"  '° 

Spake,  and  then  seized  his  arms  with  curved 
crook. 

And  gave  a  wrench  that  did  his  tendons  mar  ; 

but  content  themselves  with  stating  in  prose  what  they  found  in  Dante's 
verse,  and  add  nothing  to  our  knowledge.  Dante  himself  names  Thibault  I. 
of  Navarre  as  a  poet  (K.  £.  i.  9,  ii.  5,  6),  but  that  is  all.  He  died  in  1270, 
on  his  return  from  Tunis  with  the  bones  of  St.  Louis.  The  history  would 
seem  to  have  been  the  common  one  of  a  man  rising  to  high  estate  and 
falling  into  all  the  arts  of  corruption. 

67  This,  as  1.  81  shows,  was  the  Friar  Gomita  of  Gallura,  a  Sardinian,  and 
therefore  "near,"  though  not  of,  Italy.  Sardinia  was  at  thLs  time  subject 
to  Pisa,  and  the  district  of  Gallura  was  under  the  government  of  Nmo  dei 
Visconti,  grandson  of  Ugolino,  who  in  his  turn  entrusted  everything  to 
Gomita.  Charges  of  corruption  were  brought  against  him,  and  Nino,  after 
at  first  disregarding  them  a.s  slanders,  afterwards  ascertained  them  to  be 
true,  and  condemned  the  friar  to  be  hanged.  Nino  is  named  wiih  honour 
as  "gentle"  in  Pwrg.  viii.  53.  Comp.  Noteia  Arriv.  p.  113,  C.  xxxiii.  13. 
149 


HELL  CANTO  XXII 

And  Draghinazzo  sought  to  seize  with  hook 
His  legs  ;  but  then  their  chief,  Decurion, 
Turned  himself  round  and  round  with  angry  look.  '^ 

And  when  they  were  to  peace  a  little  won, 
Of  him,  who  still  was  gazing  at  his  wound, 
My  Guide  without  delay  made  question  : 

"  Who  then  was  he,  whom  leaving,  thou  hast  found 
Such  ill-success  in  coming  to  the  shore  ?  "  * 

And  he  made  answer,  "  Of  Gallura's  ground. 

The  friar  Gomita,  filled  with  fraud's  base  lore. 
For  he  his  lord's  foes  had  beneath  his  hand, 
Yet  acted  so  that  each  exults  the  more. 

Money  he  took,  and  easy  judgment  planned  " 

(So  speaks  he),  and  in  other  functions  too 
Sovereign,  not  subject,  in  corruption's  band. 

And  Signor  Michael  Zanche  joins  his  crew. 
Of  Logodoro  :  no  fatigue  can  bind 
Their  talk  of  all  they  in  Sardinia  knew.  "" 

Ah  !  see  how  that  one  there  his  teeth  doth  grind  ! 
I  would  say  more,  but  fear  that  demon  fell 
To  flay  my  hide  should  be  too  well  inclined." 

And  then  their  Provost  turned  to  Farfarell, 

Whose  eyes  as  if  he  m.eant  to  strike  did  glare,  ®* 

And  said,  "Stand  off,  thou  spiteful  bird  of  Hell  !  " 

'*  If  more  ye  seek  or  to  behold  or  hear," 

Then  spoke  once  more  the  poor  wretch  terrified, 
"  Tuscans  or  Lombards,  I  will  bring  them  near  ; 

But  let  those  fierce-clawed  demons  stand  aside,  '"" 

So  that  these  may  not  fear  their  vengeance  stern  ; 
And  I,  while  I  upon  this  spot  abide, 

74  Decurion,  the  captain  of  the  ten  demons. 

88  Michael  Zanche  was  governor  of  Logodoro,  another  district  of 
Sardinia.  The  title  of  "  Don  "  {Donno  in  the  Italian)  was  the  Sardinian 
equivalent  of  "  signor."  He  was  seneschal  to  Enzio,  king  of  Sardinia,  a 
natural  son  of  Frederick  II.  {Kington,  ii.  80),  through  his  marriage  with 
Adelasia,  the  heiress  of  that  island,  and  after  his  death  in  prison  at  IJologna 
in  1271,  married  his  widow  Adelasia.  and  became  lord  of  Logodoro.  He 
was  assassinated  in  1275  by  Branca  d'Oria  of  Genoa  (comp.  C.  xxxiii.  137). 
The  two  criminals  are  represented  as  talking  over  their  ill  deeds. 
150 


HELL  CANTO  XXII 

Although  but  one,  will  make  seven  hither  turn, 
When  I  shall  whistle,  as  we're  wont  to  do 
When  we  a  time  to  issue  forth  discern."  i*® 

At  this  Cagnazzo  raised  his  jowl  to  view, 

Wagging  his  head,  and  said,  "His  cunning  hear, 
Which  he  has  planned  to  plunge  away  from  you  !  " 

And  he,  who  had  of  tricks  full  plenteous  share, 

Answered,  "  In  sooth,  too  cunning  far  am  I,  "*• 

When  to  my  friends  a  greater  ill  I  bear." 

And  Alichin  gave  way,  against  the  cry 

Of  all  the  rest,  and  said,  "  If  thou  dost  leap. 
Not  at  full  gallop  will  I  on  thee  fly. 

But  o'er  the  pitch  my  wings  in  motion  keep.  "^ 

Leave  we  the  heights  and  let  the  bank  be  screen, 
To  see  if  thou  the  victory  shalt  reap." 

Now,  Reader,  hear  how  frolic  new  was  seen. 
Each  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  other  side  ; 
He  first  who  most  unwilling  erst  had  been.  ^^ 

He  of  Navarre  chose  well  the  fitting  tide, 
Set  his  feet  firm  on  earth,  and  in  a  trice 
Plunged,  and  so  left  their  wish  ungratified. 

Then  in  each  fiend  did  sense  of  guilt  arise. 

In  him  most  who  was  cause  of  that  defeat ;  ^^ 

Wherefore  he  moves,  and  "Now  thou'rt  taken" 
cries. 

But  little  gained  he  ;  wings  were  not  so  fleet 
As  fear  ;  and  one  his  downward  course  did  take, 
And  one  his  wings  in  upward  flight  did  beat. 

Not  otherwise  than  this  the  duck  doth  make  '^ 

Her  sudden  plunge  when  nears  the  falcon's  flight. 
And  he  flies  up,  much  vexed,  with  wings  that  ache. 

Then  Calcabrina,  mocked  and  full  of  spite, 
Went  flying  on  behind  him,  not  displeased 
By  that  escape  to  have  a  ground  for  fight.  ^^ 

131-139  Another  image  from  falconry.     Comp.  C.  xvii.  127. 
151 


HELL  CANTO  XXIII 

And  when  the  great  corrupter's  presence  ceased. 
He  turned  his  claws  his  comrade  fiend  to  hold, 
And  o'er  the  moat  upon  his  carcase  seized  ; 

But  he  too  was  a  falcon  keen  and  bold, 

And  grappled  with  him,  and  together  they  "° 

Fell,  and  within  the  seething  pool  both  rolled. 

The  burning  heat  disparted  them  straightway. 
But  all  their  power  to  raise  themselves  was  gone. 
Such  thick  cement  upon  their  pinions  lay. 

Then  Barbariccia  and  his  troop  made  moan,  "^ 

And  bade  four  hasten  from  the  farther  coast 
With  all  their  prongs,  and  nimbly  they  sped  on, 

This  side  and  that  they  went  down  to  their  post : 
They  thrust  their  hooks  towards  the  birdlimed  pair. 
Whom  that  hot  scurf-crust  did  already  roast ;  ^^ 

And  so  we  left  them  both  entangled  there. 


CANTO  XXIII 

Tie  Sixth  Bolgia — Departure  of  the  Dtmcm — The  Hypocrites — 
The  Friars  yoyous — Coiofhas 

Silent,  alone,  with  no  companion  near. 
We  journeyed,  one  before  and  one  behind 
(So  Minor  Friars  when  they  walk  appear); 

And  ^sop's  fable  came  into  my  mind, 

As  my  thoughts  brooded  o'er  that  recent  brawl,         ® 
That,  where  the  tale  of  frog  and  mouse  we  find; 

3  The  picture  of  the  Minor  Friars  was  one  which  might  have  been  seen  in 
any  town  in  Italy,  but,  locking  to  the  facts  stated  in  note  on  C.  xvi.  io6,  we 
can  scarcely  help  connecting  it  with  the  fact  that  Dante  himself  had  probably 
taken  part  in  such  processions  as  a  tertiary  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis. 

*  The  fable  is  not  fuund  in  those  commonly  ascribed  to  i'Esop,  but  appears 
in  the  life  of  that  writer  by  Maximus  Planudes,  a  monk  of  Constantinople,  in 
the  14th  century  (d.  after  1340),  and  is  now  commonly  included  in  the 
appendix  to  Phadrus  as  Fable  vi.  It  runs  thus  :  "A  mouse  invited  a  frog 
to  supper  in  a  rich  man's  larder.  After  the  feast  the  frog  gave  a  return- 
iuvitation,  and  as  the  mouse  couldn't  swim,  proposed  to  take  him  in  tow,  tied 
152 


HELL  CANTO  XXIII 

Not  more  alike  do  mo  and  issa  fall 

Than  one  was  to  the  other,  if  the  end 
And  the  beginning  we  to  mind  recall. 

And  as  one  thought  to  others  birth  doth  lend,  ^° 

So  out  of  that  another  straightway  rose. 
Which  made  me  'neath  a  doubled  terror  bend. 

So  thought  I  :  "These,  out-tricked  and  mocked  by- 
foes, 
We  being  the  cause,  with  loss  of  such  a  kind, 
I  needs  must  think  'twill  them  to  ill  dispose,  ^* 

If  anger  with  their  malice  be  combined. 
They  will  pursue  us,  fiercer  far  than  hound 
Pursues  the  hare  he  snaps  at  from  behind." 

Already  every  hair  on  end  I  found 

With  fear,  and,  full  of  care,  I  stood  aside,  ^ 

Then  spake:  "O  Master,  if  no  hiding-ground 

Be  shown  for  me  and  thee,  I'm  terrified 

At  these  same  evil-clawed  ones.     There  behind 
They  come;  in  thought  I  hear  them  at  our  side." 

"Were  I  a  mirror,  glass  with  lead  combined,"  ^^ 

He  said,  "  not  sooner  thee  I'd  image  there 
Than  now  thy  soul's  clear  likeness  here  I  find. 

It  was  but  now  thy  thoughts  to  mine  came  near. 
As  with  like  gesture  and  like  presence  seen. 
So  that  the  twain  did  common  counsel  bear.  ^ 

If  it  so  chance  the  right  bank  down  doth  lean. 
That  to  another  Bolgia  we  descend. 
Then  shall  we  'scape  that  fancied  chase,  I  ween." 

by  a  string,  to  his  home  in  the  water.  The  mouse,  as  he  was  drowning, 
foretold  that  an  avenger  would  appear  before  long.  An  eagle  seeing  the 
body  floating  on  the  water,  swooped  down  and  devoured  them  both."  The 
fable  had  probably  found  its  way  into  a  Latin  reading-book  of  the  13th 
century. 

7  Mo,  as  in  C.  x.  21,  xxiii.  28,  et  al.,  was  old  Italian  for  adesso,  of  which 
issa,  still  used  in  Lombardy  and  near  Chur,  is  another  form. 

25  This  was,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  the  ordinary  construction  of  mediaeval 
mirrors.     A  like  comparison  occurs  in  Conv.  iii.  9.     The  thought  is  that  of 
"face  answering  to  face,"  as  in  Prov.  xxvii.  ig.     Comp.  Par.  ii.  89. 
153 


HELL  CANTO  XXIII 

Nor  had  he  brought  his  counsel  to  an  end. 

When  I  beheld  them  with  their  wings  outspread,     ^ 
Not  far,  and  with  intent  to  seize  us,  bend. 

Then  suddenly  my  GDide  his  arms  did  fling 
Around  me,  as  a  mother,  roused  by  cries, 
Sees  the  fierce  flames  around  her  gathering, 

And  takes  her  boy,  nor  ever  halts,  but  flies,  ** 

Caring  for  him  than  for  herself  far  more. 
Though  one  scant  shift  her  only  robe  supplies. 

Then  he,  from  that  high  marge  of  stony  shore. 
Gave  himself  headlong  to  the  pendent  rock 
Which  one  side  of  the  Bolgia  lappeth  o'er,  *• 

Never  ran  stream  with  such  a  rushing  shock 
Adown  the  sluice  to  turn  a  water-mill. 
When  it  comes  close  upon  the  mill-wheel's  dock. 

As  did  my  Master  down  that  sloping  hill. 

Still  bearing  up  my  form  upon  his  breast,  ™ 

As  though  not  friend,  but  son,  his  arms  did  fill. 

Scarce  had  his  feet  the  very  bottom  pressed 

Of  that  deep  pit,  when  they  the  summit  gained 
Above  us;  but  his  fear  was  laid  to  rest; 

For  the  high  Providence  that  these  ordained  ''^ 

At  the  fifth  fosse  to  keep  their  post  as  guard. 
There,  without  power  to  leave  it  them  detained. 

A  painted  people  there  met  our  regard. 

Who  round  and  round  still  moved  with  tardy  pace, 
Weeping,    with    features    worn    and   spent    and 

marred  ;  *^ 

Cloaks  had  they,  with  hoods  low  o'er  eyes  and  face 
Down-hanging,  made  in  fashion  like  to  those 
Which  at  Cologne  are  worn  by  monkish  race, 

^  Vivid  as  the  picture  is,  and  obviously  drawn  from  life,  it  is  still  more 
striking  in  the  symbolism  which  underlies  it.  In  Virgil,  as  the  type  of  the 
higher  humaa  wisdom,  Dante  had  found  more  than  guidance,  more  than 
illumination — an  absolutely  maternal  tenderness. 

**  The  demons  had  their  work  confined  to  the  fifth  Bolgia.  The  pilgrims 
now  pass  to  the  sixth,  where  they  find  themselves  among  the  hypocrites. 

63  In  spite  of  the  v.  I.  of  Clugni,  or  of  a  conjectural  identification  with  a 


HELL  CANTO  xxni 

O'erlaid  without  with  gold,  that  dazzling  shows, 

Within  all  lead,  and  of  such  crushing  weight,  ^ 

That  those  had  seemed  of  straw  that  Frederick 
chose. 

0  everlasting  weary  robe  of  state  ! 

We  turned  ourselves  toward  the  left  again 
With  them,  intent  on  their  wail  desolate. 

But  through  the  weight,  that  folk,  outworn  with  pain,  ^° 
So  slowly  moved,  that  we  new  comrades  still 
Found,  as  each  forward  step  by  us  was  ta'en. 

Then  said  I  to  my  Guide,  "  Find,  if  thou  will. 
Some  one  by  name  or  action  to  us  known. 
And  as  thou  go'st,  let  thine  eyes  gaze  their  fill."      ^^ 

And  one  who  heard  my  speech  of  Tuscan  tone, 
Cried  to  us  from  behind,  "  Stay  ye  your  feet, 
Ye  who  through  this  dusk  air  are  running  on ; 

What  thou  dost  seek,  from  me  perchance  thou'lt 
greet." 
And  then  my  Leader  turned  and  bade  me  "  Wait,  ^ 
And  then  thy  footsteps  to  his  motion  mete." 

1  stood,  and  saw  two  forms  in  hurry  great 

Of  purpose  and  of  look  to  come  to  me. 
But  their  strait  path  and  burden  made  them  late. 
When  they  came  near,  with  side-glance  steadfastly      ^^ 
They  looked  at  me,  but  not  a  word  they  spake ; 
Then  whispered  to  each  other  secretly, 

Cologna  in  the  Veronese  territory,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  more  famous 
Cologne  is  meant ;  and  if  so,  we  have  another  trace  of  the  extent  of  Dante's 
travels.  It  is  obvious  that  he  may  have  travelled  by  the  Rhine  on  his  way 
to  or  from  Bruges  (C.  xv.  4).  The  story  of  the  hoods  was  not  without  a  touch 
of  humour  likely  to  attract  a  mind  like  Dante's.  The  monks  of  an  abbey  in 
Cologne,  it  was  said,  wanted  a  fuller  recognition  of  their  dignity,  and  applied 
to  the  Pope  to  wear  scarlet  hoods  trimmed  with  fur,  after  the  manner  of  the 
doctors  o<  the  universities.  He  taught  them  a  lesson  of  humility  by  ordering 
them  to  wear  hoods  of  a  dark  grey  serge,  so  long  that  they  trailed  behind 
them  as  they  walked. 

8*  The  story  ran  that  Frederick  II.  had  punished  traitors,  e.g:,  Count 
Regnier  di  Manente,  by  putting  hoods  of  lead  over  their  heads  and  then 
exposing  them  to  the  heat  of  a  furnace,  which  caused  the  lead  to  melt 
{Kington,  i.  475). 


HELL  CANTO  XXIII 

"  His  throat  gives  proof  he  living  breath  doth  take ; 
And  if  they're  dead,  by  what  especial  grace 
Do  they  their  journey  with  no  hood's  weight 

make  ? "  «» 

Then  said  to  me  :  "  O  thou  of  Tuscan  race. 
Who  to  the  guild  of  hypocrites  art  come, 
To  tell  us  who  thou  art  count  no  disgrace." 

And  I  :  "  I  had  my  birth  and  found  my  home 

In  the  great  city  hard  by  Arno  fair,  ^ 

And  in  my  own  true  body  here  I  roam ; 

But  who  are  ye,  on  whose  wan  cheeks  despair. 
E'en  as  I  see,  in  many  a  tear  doth  flow. 
And  what  this  torment  that  on  you  doth  glare?" 

And  one  replied,  "  These  orange  hoods  do  so  ^^ 

Crush  with  their  leaden  burden,  that  the  weight 
Doth  make  the  scale  to  creak  and  groan  below; 

Friars  Joyous  were  we,  of  Bologna  late ; 
His  name  Lodringo,  Catalano  mine, 
And  both  together  chosen  by  thy  state,  ** 

As  oft  to  one  man  men  the  task  assign. 

To  keep  its  peace,  and  how  we  worked  our  will 
Thou  may'st  around  Gardingo's  walls  divine." 

And  I  began :  "  O  friars,  your  deeds  ill  .  .  .  ." 

But  more  I  said  not,  for  before  mine  eye  "° 

One  on  the  ground,  by  three  stakes  pierced,  lay  still, 

88  The  shadow  forms  of  the  dead  exist  without  breathing,  and  they  note 
in  the  movement  of  Dante's  throat  that  he  is  not  one  of  them. 

Wi  Xhe  Friars  Joyous  were,  strictly  speaking,  brothers  of  the  Military 
Order  of  the  Knights  of  St.  Mary,  some  priests,  some  laymen,  married  or 
unmarried,  instituted  by  Urban  IV.  {d.  1264)  at  Bologna  to  fight  the  Saracens 
Like  the  Templars,  they  acquired  the  reputation  of  leading  easy  and 
luxurious  lives,  and  hence  their  popular  sobriquet  (  =  Freres  Bons-Vivants). 
The  two  here  named,  as  respectively  representing  Guelph  and  Ghibelline 
tendencies,  were  invited  in  1266  by  the  Ghibellines  of  Florence  to  do  con- 
jointly what  was  commonly  done  by  a  single  Podesta,  and  restore  order 
between  the  contending  factions.  As  it  was,  they  were  just  so  far  impartial 
as  to  take  bribes  from  both  sides  (Viil.  vii.  13  ;  Malisp.  c.  190),  betraying 
each  in  turn.  Guido  of  Arezzo  {Purg.  xxiv.  56),  the  poet,  was  said  to  have 
joined  the  Order.     Comp.  Faur.  i.  346. 

K**  Gardingo,  a  district  of  Florence,  near  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  is  named  as 
containing  the  houses  of  the  Uberti  which  had  been  destroyed  by  order  of 
the  two  Podestas, 

156 


HELL  CANTO  XXIII 

Who,  when  he  saw  me,  writhed  in  agony. 

And,  sobbing,  breathed  his  sighs  through  shaggy  beard. 
And  when  Fra  Catalan  did  this  espy. 

He   said,    "  This    man,    whom    thou   dost   see    thus 
speared,  "^ 

Gave  counsel  to  the  Pharisees  'twas  meet 
By  one  man's  death  the  nation's  guilt  were  cleared. 

Impaled  and  naked  lies  he  in  our  street, 

As  thou  perceivest,  and  he  needs  must  know 

The  weight  of  whoso  passeth  by  his  feet.  **" 

And  his  wife's  father  suffereth  equal  woe 
Here  in  this  fosse,  and  all  that  Sanhedrim, 
Seed  whence  great  evils  to  the  Jews  did  grow." 

Then  saw  I  Virgil  wondering  much  at  him 

Who  there  was  lying  stretched  upon  the  cross,        *^ 
In  everlasting  exile  drear  and  grim. 

Then  to  the  friar  he  thus  his  words  did  loss : 
"Think  it  not  hard  to  tell  us,  if  thou  may. 
If  on  the  right  is  any  path  across. 

By  which  we  twain  might  outward  take  our  way,       ^^ 
Without  constraining  any  black  fiends  drear 
To  take  and  bear  us  from  this  pit  away?" 

Then  answered  he,  "  Beyond  thy  hopes  is  near 
A  rock  from  yon  great  circle,  that  awry 
Is  stretched,  and  spans  each  cruel  valley  here,  ^^ 

Save  that  o'er  this  it  comes  not,  but  doth  lie 
All  broken  ;  on  its  ruins  thou  may'st  go. 
For  down  it  slopes,  and  at  the  base  mounts  high." 

115  Comp.  /o/in  xviii.  14.  The  punishment  described  in  I.  120  seems  to 
reproduce  the  thought  of  Isaiah  li.  23.  Caiaphas  differs  from  the  other 
hypocrites  in  being  naked,  with  no  hoods  such  as  they  wore,  and  in  being 
crucified,  suffering  eternally  the  doom  to  which  he  had  consigned  the  Just 
One.  Virgil's  wonder  (1.  124)  may  be  thought  of  as  springing  from  the  fact 
that  Caiaphas  had  not  been  there  when  he  last  made  his  descent  into  Hell 
(C.  ix.  22). 

134  xhe  great  circle  is  the  outer  rim  of  the  pit  of  the  Malebolge.     The 

bridge  of  rock  which  spanned  the  other  pits  was  here  broken  down,  the 

crash  being  thought  of  as  one  of  the  effects  of  the  earthquake  of  Matt. 

xxvii.,  so  that  the  pilgrims  bad  to  clamber  up  the  broken  masses  of  rock. 

«57 


HELL  CANTO  XXIV 

A  little  while  my  Guide  stood,  head  bent  low. 

Then  said,  "  Full  ill  did  he  the  matter  tell  "° 

Who  with  his  hook  drags  sinners  to  their  woe." 

And  then  the  friar:  "I  at  Bologna  well 
Recall  the  vices  to  the  Devil  laid, 
*A  liar,  of  all  lies  the  parent  fell.*" 

Soon  did  my  Guide  pass  on  with  hastened  tread,        ^*^ 
His  face  disturbed  a  little  by  his  wrath ; 
Then,  from  those  crushed  ones  parting,  as  he  led, 

I  followed  where  those  dear  feet  traced  their  path. 


CANTO  XXIV 

TAe  Clamber  up  the  Rock — Tie  Seventh  Bolgia — The  Robber 
Vanni  Fucc'i 

In  that  first  season  of  the  youthful  year, 

When  the  sun's  locks  the  chill  Aquarius  slakes. 
And  now  the  nights  to  half  the  day  draw  near. 

When  on  the  ground  the  hoar-frost  semblance  makes 
Of  the  fair  image  of  her  sister  white,  ^ 

But  soon  her  brush  its  colour  true  forsakes. 

The  peasant  churl,  whose  store  is  emptied  quite, 
Rises  and  looks  around,  and  sees  the  plains 
All  whitened,  and  for  grief  his  hip  doth  smite, 

Turns  to  his  house,  and  up  and  down  complains,  ^^ 

Like  the  poor  wretch  who  knows  not  what  to  do; 
Then  back  he  turns,  and  all  his  hope  regains. 

Line  140  refers  to  the  assurance  given  by  Malacoda  (C.  xxi.  iii)  that  they 
would  find  a  pathway. 

l'*2  Catalano  speaks  as  one  who  had  studied  theology  at  Bologna  and 
remembered  the  words  oi  John  viii.  44. 

6  The  phrase  "hoar  frost,  the  sister  of  snow,"  will  remind  the  reader  of 
"  dust,  the  sister  of  mud,"  in  iEsch.  Agam.  495.  The  comparison  is  among 
the  longest  and  most  vivid  of  any  in  the  poem,  and  is  a  typical  example  of 
the  union  of  the  power  that  observes  the  phenomena  of  external  nature  with 
insight  into  human  feelings  as  affecteH  by  them. 


HELL  CANTO  XXIV 

Seeing  the  world  present  an  altered  hue, 

In  little  time,  and  takes  his  shepherd's  Crook, 

And  drives  his  lambs  to  roam  through  pastures  new;  '* 

So  when  I  saw  my  Master's  troubled  look. 
It  made  me  also  grieved  and  sick  at  heart, 
And  for  that  ill  a  plaster  soon  I  took. 

For  when  we  reached  the  bridge's  broken  part, 
My  Guide's  glance  turned  to  me  with  sweetness 

fraught,  20 

As  when  from  that  hill's  foot  I  first  did  start. 

His  arms  he  stretched  when  he  awhile  had  thought 
In  counsel  with  himself,  and  well  had  scanned 
The  crag,  and  both  to  meet  around  me  brought ; 

And  like  to  him  who  works  with  thought  and  hand,    ^^ 
(For  forward  still  his  glance  is  ever  thrown), 
So  lifting  me  to  where  I  did  command 

A  great  rock's  peak,  he  marked  another  stone. 

Saying,  "Next  on  that  one  there  lay  thou  thy  hold. 
But  let  its  strength  to  bear  thee  first  be  shown."      ^ 

No  way  was  that  for  one  in  hood  enrolled. 
For  he  so  light,  and  I,  by  him  upborne. 
Could  scarcely  scramble  up  from  fold  to  fold. 

And  were  it  not  that  on  that  margin's  bourne 

The  way  was  shorter  far  than  otherwhere,  ^ 

(Of  him  I  know  not),  I  had  been  outworn ; 

But  because  Malebolge  still  doth  bear 

Downward,  and  to  the  deepest  pit  descend. 
Such  is  the  structure  of  each  valley  there 

That  this  side  upward,  that  doth  downward  bend.       *° 
We  came,  however,  to  that  point  at  last. 
Whence  the  last  stone,  thrust  forward,  doth  impend. 

21-45  The  description,  like  its  parallels  in  C.  xii  i-io,  implies  a  certain 
want  of  muscularity.  The  poet's  memories  of  rock-climbing  were  not  thosj 
of  a  member  of  the  Alpine  Club.  Such  experiences  seemed  to  him  to  belong 
rather  to  the  scenery  of  the  Inferno  than  to  that  of  the  "  serene "  and 
enjoyable  life  of  earth.  The  reminiscence  of  the  "sweet  look"  in  1.  20 
suggests,  however,  the  thought  that  we  have  a  parable  of  a  spiritual  diffi- 
culty, help  coming  now  as  it  had  come  at  first  (C.  i.  76). 


HELL  CANTO  XXIV 

So  spent  my  breath  was  with  that  climbing  fast, 

When  I  was  up  I  could  no  farther  go, 

And  so  sat  down,  that  weary  toil  being  past.  ^' 

"Now  is  it  meet  thou  be  no  longer  slow," 

My  Master  said,  "  for  not  on  couch  of  down 

Come  men  to  fame,  nor  coverlet  below; 
And  whoso  spends  his  life  without  renown 

Leaves  of  himself  upon  the  earth  such  trace  ^ 

As  smoke  in  air,  or  foam  on  water  blown. 
Therefore  bestir  thyself,  thy  trouble  face 

With  that  brave  soul  that  wins  in  every  fight, 

Unless  it  share  thy  heavier  body's  case. 
Thou  yet  must  climb  a  longer  stairway's  flight;  ^ 

'Tis  not  enough  to  have  left  that  crew  behind; 

]f  thou  dost  hear  me,  act  thereon  aright." 
Then  did  I  rise  in  somewhat  better  wind 

Than  I  had  thought  to  feel  myself  before. 

And  said,  "  On  then  ;  new  strength  within  I  find ! "  ^ 
Then  on  the  path  of  rock  we  onward  bore, 

Which  we  found  rough,  and  difficult,  and  strait, 

And  steeper  far  than  that  we  had  passed  o'er. 
Talking  I  went,  to  hide  my  feeble  state ; 

Then  from  the  next  moat  lo !  a  voice  was  heard,     ^ 

Speaking  in  accents  scarce  articulate  ; 
Of  all  it  said  I  caught  no  single  word. 

Though  on  the  summit  of  the  arch  I  stood. 

But  he  who  spake  appeared  to  anger  stirred. 
I  stooped;  no  eyes,  with  fullest  life  imbued,  "" 

Could  pierce  the  abysmal  depth  of  that  obscure; 

Then  said  I,  "  Master,  may  it  please  thy  mood 

^  The  words  remind  one  of  Milton's  Lycidas.  The  two  poets  were  alike 
in  their  burning  desire  for  fame,  and  in  their  sense  that  those  who  seek  it 
must  "scorn  delights  and  live  laborious  days."  Fori.  53,  see  the  parallel 
of  Purg.  xvi.  75-78.  The  "  longer  stairway"  of  1.  55  is  ihat  of  the  Mount 
of  Purgatory. 

6*_  One  mav  perhaps  see  in  this  another  personal  reminiscence.  Most 
Alpine  travellers  will  remember  how  commonly  the  worst  climber  of  the 
party  is  the  one  who  will  keep  talking  in  order  to  show  that  he  has  strength 
for  the  work  before  him. 

160 


HELL  CANTO  XXIV 

To  reach  the  next  round  and  descent  ensure, 

For  as  I  hear  and  nothing  understand, 

So  when  I  look,  my  sight  is  dim  and  poor."  '^ 

"  No  other  answer,"  said  he,  "  thy  demand 

Shall  have  but  action,  for  a  good  request 

In  silence  should  be  met  with  act  and  hand." 
Then  from  the  bridge  our  downward  course  we  pressed, 

Where  with  the  right  bank  it  connects  its  way,        ** 

And  then  the  pit  to  me  was  manifest. 
And  there  I  saw  a  terrible  array 

Of  serpents,  of  such  diverse  form  and  mien. 

That  mere  remembrance  doth  my  blood's  flow  stay. 
No  more  let  Libya's  sands  boast  they  have  seen  ^ 

Such ;  though  they  adders,  vipers,  dragons,  bear. 

With  monstrous  hydras  and  the  amphisbene. 
Yet  plagues  so  great  and  of  such  evil  rare, 

With  Ethiopia  joined,  they  never  showed. 

Nor  all  that  by  the  Red  Sea's  waters  are.  *' 

Among  this  fierce  and  miserable  crowd 

There  ran  a  people  naked,  terrified. 

No  hope  of  cave  or  heliotrope  allowed. 
Behind  their  backs  their  hands  with  snakes  were  tied. 

Their  head  and  tail  the  reins  they  twisted  o'er,        ^ 

In  front  their  tangled  folds  they  multiplied ; 

TS  The  precise  position  of  the  travellers,  as  seen  here  and  in  I.  79,  is  that 
they  have  clambered  up  the  rocks  which  led  from  the  seventh  Bolgia,  over 
which  there  was  no  bridge,  to  the  bridge  which  spans  the  eighth.  They 
descend,  for  the  bridge  slopes  downward,  but  do  not  go  down  into  that 
Bolgia,  contenting  themselves  with  what  they  see  in  glancing  down  from 
the  bridge. 

82  One  ventures  to  think  that  at  this  point  the  quick  spontaneous  imagina- 
tion of  the  poet  began  for  a  while  to  flag.  By  way  of  compensaiion  he  falls 
back  upon  reminiscences  of  his  two  favourite  poets,  Lucan  and  Ovid,  and 
deliberately  endeavours  to  surpass  them  in  the  strangeness  and  elaborate- 
ness of  his  description.  His  first  picture  is,  as  it  were,  a  replica  of  Lucan's 
description  of  the  Libyan  desert  (ix.  706-721),  in  which  he  exhausts  the 
whole  vocabulary  of  serpent  classification.  In  the  "Red  Sea''  there  is 
probably  an  allusion  to  the  "  fiery  serpents  "  of  Numbers  xxi.  6. 

9*  The  "heliotrope"  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  not  a  flower,  but  a  stone, 
the  bloodstone  of  modern  lapidaries,  which  was  believed  to  act  either  as  an 
amulet  against  venomous  serpents  or  to  make  the  wearer  invisible. 

l6l  L 


HELL  CANTO  XXIV 

And  lo  !  at  one  who  halted  near  our  shore, 

There  came  a  serpent,  and  transfixed  him  there. 
Just  where  his  neck  and  chin  the  shoulders  bore. 

Nor  O  nor  /  so  fast  could  one  write  here,  ''" 

As  he  blazed  up  and  burnt,  and  in  his  fall 
Was  turned  perforce  to  ashes  dry  and  sere. 

And  when  to  earth  he  fell  and  perished,  all 
The  ashes  of  themselves  together  came. 
And  him  forthwith  did  to  himself  recall ;  *'® 

So  to  great  sages  there  is  known  the  fame 
That  thus  the  Phoenix  dies  and  lives  again, 
When  he  five  hundred  years  of  life  can  claim. 

Nor  herbs  nor  any  grass  its  life  sustain, 

But  only  tears  of  incense  and  of  spice,  "" 

And  nard  and  myrrh  for  winding-sheet  remain. 

As  one  who  falls,  nor  knows  by  what  device 

The  demon's  force  has  dragged  him  to  the  ground. 
Nor  other  seizure  that  a  man's  strength  ties. 

When  he  ariseth  looketh  all  around,  "* 

All  dazed  and  stunned  with  that  great  agony 
Which  he  has  borne,  and  heaves  a  sigh  profound. 

So  rose  that  sinner  then  in  misery. 

Justice  of  God!   O  how  severe  'tis  seen. 

That  rains  such  woes  in  vengeance  from  on  high !  ^^ 

My  Guide  then  questioned  him  who  he  had  been, 
And  he  replied,  "  I  from  Toscana  down 
Fell  but  just  now  this  cruel  gorge  within; 

A  bestial  life,  not  man's,  my  joy  did  crown, 

Mule  as  I  was,     Lo!  Vanni  Fucci  I,  "' 

Fit  den  for  beast  like  me  Pistoia's  known." 

106  The  description  of  the  Phoenix  seems  reproduced  from  Ovid  {Met.  xv. 
392-402),  the  poet  whom  Dante  was  at  this  stsge  of  his  poem  striving  to 
outdo.  His  master,  Brunetto,  gives  a  like  account,  fixing  the  scene  of  the 
transformation  at  Heliopolis  ( Tris.  v.  26). 

126  The  story  of  Vanni  Fucci  (given  m  full  by  Senv.)  may  be  briefly  told. 
He  was  the  bastard  son  of  Fuccio  de  Lazari,  one  of  the  chief  citizens  of 
Pistoia,  and,  in  company  with  other  comrades  in  profligacy,  plundered  the 
Church  of  St.  Jacopo  in  that  city  of  its  sacred  vessels.  Another  citizen^ 
Rampino,  was  suspected,  but  in  order  to  save  him,  the  criminal  confessed 
162 


HELL  CANTO  XXIV 

,  Then  to  my  Guide  I  said,  "Bid  him  not  fly, 

And  ask  what  crime  has  thrust  him  here  below; 
He,  man  of  blood  and  wrath,  once  met  mine  eye." 

Nor  was  the  sinner,  when  he  heard  me,  slow  '** 

To  tell  it,  but  on  me  fixed  face  and  mind, 
And  was  all  painted  as  with  shame  and  woe; 

Then  spake,  "  It  grieves  me  more  that  thou  dost  find 
Me  in  this  woe  wherein  thou  see'st  me  lie 
Than  when  I  left  that  other  life  behind.  *^ 

What  thou  dost  ask  me  I  may  not  deny; 
Thus  low  I  am  cast  down  because  I  stole 
The  goodly  treasure  from  the  sacristy. 

And  false  blame  fell  upon  another  soul. 

But  that  thou  find  not  joy  in  such  a  sight,  "° 

If  thou  shalt  ever  leave  this  darksome  hole 

Open  thine  ears  and  hear  what  I  recite. 
Pistoia  first  doth  thin  the  Neri  out. 
Then  Florence  changes  men  and  manners  quite ; 

From  Val  di  Magra  Mars  a  blast  draws  out,  "* 

A  vale  which  with  dark  clouds  is  overspread. 
And  with  tempestuous  storms  and  utter  rout 

his  guilt  and  was  handed.  He  had  been  one  of  the  Neri  of  Pistoia,  and 
Dante,  as  one  of  the  Bianchi  of  Florence,  had  apparently  (1.  129)  heard  of 
other  outrages.  He  is  said,  however,  to  have  been  among  the  poets  of  the 
time,  and  Crescimbeni  has  preserved  a  couplet  in  which  he  mourns,  as  in  the 
tones  of  despair,  at  "having  lost  the  good  which  once  he  might  have  had" 
{1st.  Volg.  Poes.  ii.  99).  The  bitterness  with  which  Dante  speaks  here  and 
elsewhere  of  Pistoia  connects  itself  with  the  fact  that  he  saw  m  it  the  birth- 
place of  those  hateful  parties  of  the  Blacks  and  Whites  that  had  wrecked 
his  own  life  and  broui,ht  misery  into  his  city. 

I'M  Another  prophecy  after  the  event,  analogous  to  tho.se  of  Ciacco 
(C.  vi.  64)  and  Parinata  (C.  x.  79),  is  put  into  Vanni's  lips.  The  facts  were 
(i)  that  the  Bianchi  of  Pistoia,  helped  by  those  of  Florence,  expelled  the 
Neri  in  May  1301.  (2)  In  November  1301,  Charles  of  Valois'  arrival  made 
the  Neri  of  Florence  masters  of  the  situation,  so  that  Florence  changed 
"  men  and  manners,"  and  the  Bianchi  were  stamped  out  by  Corso  Donati 
and  his  party.  Moroello  of  Mala.spina,  of  the  Val  di  Magra,  at  the  head  of 
the  Pistoian  Neri,  attacks  the  Bianchi  of  that  city  in  the  Campo  Piceno,  and 
defeats  them,  and  the  Neri  of  Florence  expel  their  Bianchi,  Dante  among 
them.  The  prophecy,  as  in  1.  151,  was  meant  to  vex  his  soul  with  the 'fear 
of  coming  evil.  No  battle  in  Campo  Piceno  is  mentioned  by  historians. 
Dante,  however,  was  likely  to  know,  especially  as  Moroello  was  afterwards, 
for  a  time,  his  friend  and  host,  and  to  him  the  poet  dedicated  his 
163 


HELL  CANTO  XXV 

Piceno's  plain  shall  witness  battle  dread, 

And  he  that  cloud  shall  suddenly  break  through. 
That  each  Bianco  shall  be  smitten  dead.  ^^ 

And  this  I  tell  thy  sorrow  to  renew." 


CANTO  XXV 

T^he  Bolg'ia  of  the  Serpents — Cianfa  del  Donati  and  Othen — 
T^he  Man  and  Serpent  Transformation  Scenes 

His  speech  being  ended,  then  that  thief  did  raise 
His  h»nds  with  thumbs  thrust  out  in  scornful  guise. 
Crying,  "  Take  this,  God ;  Thine  be  this  dispraise." 

Then  looked  I  on  the  snakes  with  friendly  eyes, 

For  one  around  his  neck  itself  entwined,  ^ 

As  if  it  said,  "  No  more  of  such  replies." 

Another  came  and  both  his  arms  did  bind. 
So  tightly  curling  round  in  front,  that  he 
No  power  to  make  a  single  turn  could  find. 

Ah  me  !   Pistoia,  why  not  make  decree  ^^ 

To  burn  thyself  to  dust  and  disappear. 
Since  thou  in  guilt  excell'st  thine  ancestry? 

Purgatorio.     Scart.   refers  the  prophecy    to    the    siege    and    capture    of 
Serravalle  in  1302  {Vill.  viii.  52)  ;  others  to  that  of  Pistoia  (VilL  viii.  82). 

I  The  special  gesture,  known  technically  as  the  "  fig,"  was  that  of 
thrusting  the  thumb  between  the  two  fore-fingers.  As  with  other  like 
gestures,  the  thumb-biting  of  Romeo  and  Juliet  (i.  1),  or  the  modem 
English  of  "  taking  a  sight,"  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  tracing  its  signifi- 
cance to  its  source.  Each  in  its  time  has  been  the  starting-point  of  quarrels 
ending  in  bloodshed.  The  Italian  "a  Jico"  for  this  or  that,  as  in  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor,  i.  3,  shows  that  it  was  still  common  in  the  i6th  century. 
Curiously  enough,  Sacchetti  {Nov.  95)  tells  a  story  of  an  ass-driver  who 
made  this  gesture  at  Dante  himself.  The  enemies  of  Florence  showed  their 
scorn  by  putting,  on  a  tower  at  Carmignano,  two  arms  of  marble,  making 
the  fico  at  the  city  which  they  held  up  to  opprobrium  (Vill.  vi.  5).  The 
Florentines  destroyed  the  tower  in  1228.  In  the  statutes  of  Prato  this  act 
was  named,  when  done  after  Fucci's  fashion,  as  a  blasphemous  outrage, 
punishable  by  fine  or  flogging. 

II  A  V.  I.  ingenerare  for  inrenerarti,  gives,  "why  dost  not  thou  refrain  from 
begetting  children?"  The  "ancestry"  refers  to  the  tradition,  in  which  the 
Florentines  exulted,  that  they  had  sprung  from  the  noble  stdck  of  Rome, 
while  Pistoia  owed  its  origin  to  the  disbanded  troops  of  Catiline. 

164 


HELL  CANTO  XXV 

In  all  Hell's  many  circles  dark  and  drear, 
No  spirit  saw  I  against  God  so  proud, 
Not  he  who  fell  from  walls  that  Thebes  did  rear.    ** 

He  fled,  nor  spake  another  word  aloud. 
And  then  I  saw  a  Centaur  with  fierce  din 
Crying  out,  "What  region  doth  this  scorner  shroud?" 

Maremma's  self  doth  no  such  treasure  win, 

I  trow,  of  snakes  as  he  had  on  his  back,  ^ 

As  far  as  where  man's  visage  doth  begin. 

Over  his  shoulders,  at  the  neck-bone's  rack, 
A  dragon  lay,  with  fiery  wings  outspread. 
And  sets  ablaze  whoever  him  attack. 

"  There  standeth  Cacus,"  then  my  Master  said,  ^^ 

"Who  'neath  the  rocky  crag  of  Aventine 
Made  many  a  pool  with  blood  that  he  had  shed. 

Not  with  his  brothers  moves  he  in  one  line, 
By  reason  of  his  subtle  robbery. 
When  they  were  near  him,  of  the  herd  of  kine,       ^° 

And  so  he  ceased  his  tortuous  trade  to  ply 
Beneath  the  club  of  Hercules,  and  he 
Of  fivescore  strokes  scarce  ten  felt  consciously." 

And  while  he  spake,  far  off  did  Cacus  flee ; 

And  spirits,  three  in  number,  'neath  us  came,  ^ 

Whom  neither  I  nor  yet  my  Guide  did  see. 

Till  "Who  are  ye?"  they  loudly  did  exclaim. 
And  so  my  Leader  ceased  his  tale  to  tell. 
And  they  sole  objects  of  our  heed  became. 

I  knew  them  not,  but  then  it  so  befell,  ^° 

As  often  follows,  should  some  chance  betray, 
That  one  was  forced  the  other's  name  to  tell, 

15  See  C.  xiv.  46  on  Capaneus.  Vanni  would  have  found  himself  among 
the  blasphemers  had  he  not  been  guilty  of  the  baser  crime  of  sacrilege. 

^'^  The  Centaur,  half-man,  half-beast,  is  Cacus,  whom  Virgil  (^"«.  viii.  193) 
represents  as  semihono,  and  whom  Dante  transforms  into  a  centaur,  i  or 
Maremma,  see  note  on  C.  xxix.  47. 

2S  We  are  still  in  the  groove  of  the  poet's  classical  reminiscences.  For  the 
story  of  Cacus,  see  A£n.  viii.  193-270.  He  appears  here  as  the  symbol  of 
combined  force  and  fraud. 

35  The  three  forms  are  identified  in  lines  68,  140,  148,  where  see  notes. 
165 


HELL  CANTO  XXV 

Crying  out,  "Where  can  Cianfa  then  delay?" 
And  thereon  I,  to  make  my  Guide  give  heed. 
My  finger  betwixt  chin  and  nose  did  lay.  ^ 

If  thou  art  slow  to  credit,  who  dost  read, 
What  I  shall  tell,  no  marvel  will  it  be. 
For  scarce  I  trust  it,  though  I  saw  the  deed. 

As  I  upon  them  turned  mine  eyes  to  see, 

A  serpent  with  six  feet  itself  did  throw  ^ 

Straight  before  one,  and  bound  him  utterly; 

Around  his  belly  its  mid-feet  did  go. 

And  with  its  front  ones  it  his  arms  did  bind ; 
Then  on  each  cheek  its  teeth  wrought  cruel  woe; 

Upon  his  thighs  it  stretched  the  feet  behind,  " 

And  'twixt  the  two  it  twisted  round  its  tail. 
And  backward  on  the  reins  its  folds  entwined; 

Never  so  close  did  ivy  tree  assail 

With  tiny  fangs,  as  that  beast  horrible 

Did  on  the  other's  limbs  its  own  impale.  ^ 

Then,  as  of  hot  wax  made,  they  blended  well, 
And  each  took  somewhat  of  the  other's  hue ; 
With  neither  did  its  former  fashion  dwell. 

As  from  before  the  flame  that  scorches  through 

Upon  the  paper  creeps  a  tint  of  brown,  ^ 

White  dead  and  gone,  and  yet  the  black  not  true. 

The  other  two  upon  the  sight  looked  down. 

Each  crying,  "Agnello,  what  a  change  is  thine  ! 
Lo  !  nor  as  two  nor  yet  as  one  thou'rt  shown." 

Already  did  the  two  heads  so  combine,  '^'^ 

When  the  two  faces  melted  into  one. 
And  lost  in  each  was  every  feature's  line. 

**  Cianfa  was  one  of  the  Donati.  Historians  narrate  no  robbery  in  which 
he  was  implicated  ;  commentators  expand  the  text.  Dante  may  have  known. 
Cianfa  appears  in  1.  50  transformed  into  the  six-footed  serpent.  The  gesture 
of  1.  45  implies  that  he  recognised  a  Florentine  name. 

6*  The  Anon,  gives  a  brief  account  of  an  Agnolo  Brunelleschi  of  Florence, 
who  first  robbed  his  father  and  mother,  and  then  used  to  enter  great  houses 
(disguised  as  a  beggar  and  rob  them. 

166 


HELL  CANTO  XXV 

Of  the  four  lengths  of  limb  two  arms  were  grown. 
The  thighs  and  legs,  the  belly  and  the  trunk, 
Such  limbs  became  as  never  yet  were  known.  '^ 

All  trace  of  former  features  now  was  sunk; 

The  form  transformed,  as  neither,  yet  as  twain, 
Appeared,  and  slowly  from  our  gaze  it  shrunk. 

As  when  a  lizard,  'neath  the  fiery  reign 

O'the  dogdays,  seeks  to  change  its  hedgerow  bourne,  * 
It  seems  like  lightning  to  dart  o'er  the  plain, 

So  came  there  then,  as  to  the  paunches  borne 
Of  the  other  two,  a  snake  of  fiery  wrath. 
Livid  and  black  as  any  peppercorn. 

And  at  that  part  where  first  our  body  hath  ®^ 

Its  nourishment,  pierced  one  of  them  right  through, 
Then  swelling,  fell  before  him  on  the  path. 

The  pierced  one  gazed,  but  no  speech  did  ensue, 
But  with  fixed  feet  he  gaping  face  did  show, 
As  though  or  sleep  or  fever's  stroke  he  knew.  ^ 

He  on  the  serpent,  it  on  him  did  throw 

Fixed  gaze,  it  from  its  mouth,  he  from  his  wound. 
Smoked  forth,  the  smoke  clouds  mingling  in  their  flow. 

Let  Lucan  now  be  silent,  where  is  found 

How  poor  Sabellus  and  Nassidius  fell,  ^ 

And  let  him  list  what  from  my  bow  shall  sound. 

82  The  transformation  which  now  begins  is  that  of  the  serpents,  identified 
in  lines  140  and  151  with  Francesco  Cavalcanti  and  Biioso  Donati. 

8*  The  passage  referred  to  describes  the  death  of  two  soldiers  in  Cato's 
army  from  the  bites  of  two  species  of  serpents  (Lucan,  ix.  769-804).  For 
the  transformation  of  Cadmus  and  his  wife  Harmoiiia  into  a  serpent,  see 
Ovid,  Met.  iv.  563-604,  and  for  that  of  Arethusa  into  a  fountain,  Jtfei. 
V.  572-671.  With  a  feeling  which  reminds  us  of  Turner's  wish  that  the 
picture  which  he  looked  on  as  his  masterpiece  should  be  hung  in  the 
National  Gallery,  side  by  side  with  one  of  Claude's,  Dante  boldly  challenges 
comparison  with  two  out  of  the  five  great  poets  of  antiquity  whom  he  most 
reverenced.  He  had  been  content  to  be  sixth  in  that  goodly  company 
(C.  iv.  102);  now  he  claims  his  pli<ce  among  the  first  three.  No  one  will 
dispute  his  claim  to  that  high  position,  but  most  of  us  will  probably  rest  that 
clami  on  powers,  aims,  characteristics,  which  were  as  unlike  as  possible  to 
those  of  Ovid  or  Lucan,  rather  than  on  his  successful  rivalry  with  them  in 
the  line  which  each  had  made  his  own.  What  he  probably  prided  himself 
on  was  the  condensation  which  compressed  into  eighty  or  ninety  lines  what 
they  would  have  spread  over  two  or  three  hundred — the  marvellous  compli* 
167 


HELL  CANTO  XXV 

Let  Ovid  cease  of  Arethuse  to  tell 

And  Cadmus ;  though  he  change  her  to  a  spring, 
And  him  to  snake,  I  grudge  him  not  his  spell. 

Two  natures  face  to  face  he  could  not  bring  ^°^ 

Transmuted  thus,  so  that  on  either  side 
Forms  quickly  changed  their  bodies'  fashioning. 

Each  with  the  other  in  such  manner  vied. 
That  the  snake  parted  into  twain  its  tail ; 
The  wounded  man's  feet  were  together  tied,  ■•" 

Nor  did  to  legs  and  thighs  like  union  fail. 
So  that  in  little  time  appeared  no  trace 
Of  juncture,  of  that  change  to  tell  the  tale. 

The  cloven  tail  assumed  the  shape  and  space 

The  other  lost,  and  that  one's  skin  became  "° 

Hard,  while  to  this  there  came  a  softer  grace. 

1  saw  the  arms  drawn  up  at  the  armpits'  frame, 
And  its  two  feet,  of  scanty  length  before. 
Were  stretched  as  his  to  less  dimensions  came ; 

And  the  hind-feet,  entwisted  more  and  more,  "^ 

Became  the  member  that  a  man  conceals. 
And  the  poor  wretch  for  his,  two  members  bore. 

Then  from  the  smoke  o'er  this  and  that  one  steals 
New  tint,  and  clothes  the  one  with  hair  all  new. 
While  from  the  other  all  the  hair  it  peels.  *-° 

As  one  rose  up,  the  other  downward  drew. 
Yet  those  malignant  lamps  they  laid  not  by, 
'Neath  which  each  face  into  the  other  grew  ; 

He  who  stood  drew  it  to  the  temples  high. 

And  out  of  the  excess  of  substance  there  ^^ 

Came  forth  the  ears  where  simple  cheeks  did  lie  ; 

cation  of  the  double  reciprocal  metamorphosis,  the  vividness  of  the  similes  in 
1.  64  and  79,  drawn  as  they  were  from  objecis  that  seemed  to  lie  outside  tiic 
range  of  conventional  poetic  imagery  ;  and  in  all  these  he  might  fairly  claim 
the  palm,  if  such  a  prizt:  were  worth  contending  for.  But  we  feel  also  that 
the  poet  stoops  from  his  higher  level  in  the  very  act  of  competition ;  that, 
after  all,  what  we  have  is  a  tour  de  force  and  nothing  more,  and  there  are 
few  passages  in  the  Commedia  on  which  we  dwell  with  less  delight,  or 
from  which  we  reap  less  profit. 

168 


HELL  CANTO  XXV 

What  drew  not  back  but  as  before  did  fare 
Made  for  the  face  from  that  excess  a  nose, 
And  bade  the  lips  their  proper  thickness  wear. 

He  who  lay  flat  his  features  forward  throws,  '^ 

And  both  his  ears  withdraws  within  his  head, 
Just  as  the  snail  doth  with  the  horns  he  shows; 

His  tongue,  once  fit  the  sounds  of  speech  to  shed, 
Single  in  form,  now  split,  while  into  one  [fled. 

The  forked  tongue  came,  and  then  the  smoke  had  '^^ 

The  soul  that  into  bestial  shape  had  grown 
Sped  through  the  valley,  hissing  as  it  went ; 
The  other,  spitting  as  it  spake,  passed  on. 

Then  his  new  shoulders  turned  he,  forward  bent. 

And  to  the  other  said,  "Let  Buoso  speed,  '*" 

Crawling,  like  me,  along  this  pit's  extent." 

So  that  seventh  rubbish  lot  saw  I  indeed 

Change  and  rechange  :  and  if  my  pen  doth  stray 
A  little,  let  the  strangeness  for  me  plead. 

And  though  upon  mine  eyes  strange  wonder  lay  "^ 

And  my  mind  wandered,  yet  they  could  not  flee 
So  hidden  from  me,  as  they  went  their  way. 

But  I  Sciancato  Puccio  did  see. 

And  he  alone  remained  unaltered  still 

Of  those  who  erst  came  on,  companions  three  ;       ^^ 

The  other  he  whom  thou  dost  weep,  Gaville. 

140  Buoso  Donati  (or,  according  to  some  commentators,  Abati)  is  the  man 
who  has  become  a  serpent.  Nothing  more  is  known  of  him  than  is  here 
implied. 

148  Puccio,  of  the  Galigai  family  of  Florence,  is  said,  like  the  others,  to 
have  been  guilty  of  gross  official  peculations. 

161  The  last  of  the  evil  company  is  not  named,  but  the  mention  of  Gaville, 
a  town  in  the  Val  d'Arno,  where  many  had  been  ruined  and  put  to  death  for 
their  share,  real  or  su:>posed,  in  the  murder  of  Francesco  Cavalcanti,  helped 
the  early  commentators  to  identify  him.     {Anon.) 


169 


HELL  CANTO  xxn 

The  Eighth  Bolgia — The  Givers  of  Evil  Counsel — Ulysses  and 
Diomed—'The  Last  Voyage  of  Ulysses 

Rejoice,  O  Florence,  since  so  great  thy  fame, 
That  over  sea  and  land  thy  wings  are  spread. 
And  through  the  depths  of  Hell  resounds  thy  name. 

Five  such  I  found  among  the  scoundrel  dead. 

Thy  citizens,  whence  shame  my  soul  doth  fill,  ^ 

Nor  do  they  with  much  honour  crown  thy  head; 

But  if  at  morning  dawn  come  true  dreams  still. 
It  will  be  thine  in  no  long  time  to  bear 
What  Prato  and  the  rest  desire  of  ill. 

Should  it  come  now,  'twere  late  by  many  a  year  :         '" 
Since  come  it  must,  I  would  it  now  were  come. 
Since  more  'twill  grieve  me  as  life's  end  draws  near. 

So  upward  by  the  self-same  stairs  we  clomb 
The  rocks  had  made  for  our  descent  before, 
In  front  my  Guide,  and  I  behind  did  roam  ;  '* 

And  as  our  lonely  way  we  travelled  o'er 

Among  the  rock's  sharp  crags  and  jutting  stones. 
Feet  without  hands  had  been  but  scanty  store. 

1  The  motive  of  the  long  list  of  official  robbers  is  now  made  clear.  It 
gives  the  poet  an  opening  for  turning  on  his  city  with  keen  incisive  irony. 
She  may  well  rejoice ;  her  fame  is  spread  far  and  wide,  even  in  Hell.  In 
Conv-  iv.  27  the  same  feeling  takes  the  more  natural  form  of  lamentation. 
Comp.  Purg.  vi.  127-151. 

7  Comp.  Purg.  ix.  16  for  the  same  belief,  which  Dante  may  have  derived 
from  Ovid  (Heroid.  xix.  195)— 

"  Nantque  sub  A  uroram,  jam  dormitante  lucernA, 
Somnia  quo  cemi  tempore  vera  solent. " 

9  Prato  is  named  as  a  typical  representative  of  the  enemies  of  Florence. 
The  words  are,  of  course,  a  prophecy  after  the  event,  but  what  special 
disaster  is  referred  to  is  matter  of  conjecture.  Such  incidents  as  the  faction 
fights  after  1300  {Vill.  viii.  39),  or  the  fall  of  the  Ponte  Carraia  in  1304 
(KiV/.  viii.  69),  or  the  great  fire  of  June  of  the  same  year  (Vtll.  viii.  71), 
may  have  been  in  Dante's  mind.  Possibly  the  reference  may  be  to  the 
excommunication  which  the  Pope's  Legate,  the  Cardinal  di  Prato,  launched 
against  the  citizens  of  Florence  on  their  refusal  to  accept  his  offers  of 
mediation  between  them  and  the  exiled  Bianchi  (K/V/.  viii.  69;  Faur.  i.  193). 
On  this  hypothesis,  the  "other"  may  be  Cardinal  Orsini,  who  was  sent  by 
Clement  V.  in  1306,  and  who  also  placed  the  city  under  an  interdict.  Tne 
thought  of  1.  12  seems  to  be  that  the  speaker  would  rather  that  the  Divine 
judgment,  which  he  assumes  to  be  inevitable,  would  fall  on  the  city  which 
170 


HELL  CANTO  XXVI 

Then  grieved  I  much,  and  still  my  spirit  groans, 

When  I  recall  what  there  my  eyes  beheld,  ^ 

And  my  free  mind  a  check  unwonted  owns. 

That  it  run  not,  by  Virtue  unimpelled  ; 

So  that  if  some  good  star,  or  aught  more  high. 
Good  gifts  have  given,  they  be  not  now  withheld. 

As  when  the  peasant  on  the  hill  doth  lie,  ^^ 

(What  time  his  face  from  us  is  least  concealed 
Who  to  the  world  gives  light  from  out  the  sky, 

And  swarms  of  flies  to  gnats  their  places  yield). 
And  down  the  vale  sees  many  a  glow-worm's  rays. 
There  where  he  plucks  his  grapes  or   ploughs    his 
field  ;  ^ 

So  many  a  flame  lit  up  in  glowing  blaze 
In  the  eighth  Bolgia  there  I  soon  did  see, 
As  soon  as  I  upon  its  depth  did  gaze; 

And  like  to  him  the  bears  avenged,  when  he 

Elijah's  chariot  watched  till  it  was  gone,  *^ 

What  time  the  steeds  erect  to  heaven  did  flee — 

For  with  his  eyes  he  failed  to  track  them  on. 
Or  see  aught  else  but  one  encircling  flame. 
That  like  a  cloud  its  way  right  upward  won — 

So  in  the  pit's  deep  gorge  each  went  and  came,  *" 

For  not  one  did  the  deed  of  theft  display. 
Yet  each  enwrapped  a  sinner  and  his  shame. 

he  still  loved,  while  there  was  yet  hope  that  he  might  live  to  see  better  days 
for  it,  and  for  himself,  than  when  the  infirmities  of  age  would  make  him  le»s 
able  to  hold  up  against  the  sorrows  which  touched  both  it  and  him. 

23  For  the  stellar  influence  on  which  Dante  loved  to  dwell,  see  C.  xv.  55, 
Par.  xxii.  no  The  "better  thing"  is  the  grace  of  God  (C.  xxi.  82),  per- 
haps the  special  consecration  of  Par.  xxiv.  151  {Faur.  i.  80). 

28  It  has  been  questioned  whether  the  " lucciolc"  of  the  Italians  are 
"glow-worms"  or  "fire-flies;  "  11.  31-42  represent  the  lights  as  moving,  and 
this  is  in  favour,  at  first  sight,  of  the  latter ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  said 
that  the  fire-fly  proper  {Elater  noctilucus)  was  unknown  in  Europe  till  after 
the  discovery  of  America,  and  (2)  that  the  glow-worm  of  Italy  {Latnpyris 
italica)  shines  as  it  flies  as  well  as  when  at  rest  (Westwood,  i.  248;  Duncan, 
pp.  161-172). 

32  The  eighth  Bolgia  is  that  of  the  evil  counsellors. 

3*  Comp.  2  Kings  ii.  11,  12,  23-25. 

17J 


HELL  CANTO  XXVI 

Erect  upon  the  bridge  I  then  did  stay, 
So  that  unless  my  hands  a  rock  had  held, 
Without  being  pushed,  my  feet  had  given  way.        '-^ 

And  when  my  Guide  me  thus  attent  beheld, 

Thus  spake  he:  "In  these  fires  the  spirits  dwell. 
Each  to  be  wrapt  by  that  which  burns  compelled." 

*'  Dear  Master  mine,"  I  said,  "  what  thou  dost  tell 
Makes  me  more  certain,  but  before  I  deemed  "" 

That  so  it  was,  and  sought  to  ask  as  well 

Whom  doth  that  fire  hold,  where  apart  have  streamed 
The  flames  at  top,  as  though  from  out  the  pyre 
That  o'er  Eteocles  and  his  brother  gleamed," 

He  answered  me,  "  There  tortured  in  that  fire  ^^ 

Ulysses  is  and  Diomed,  and  so 
They  run  to  vengeance  as  they  ran  to  ire ; 

And  there,  within  the  flame,  they  wail  in  woe 
The  ambush  of  that  horse  that  made  the  gate, 
Through  which  the  noble  seed  of  Rome  did  flow;  ^ 

Those  arts  they  mourn  which  for  Achilles'  fate 
Still  wet  with  tears  Deidamia's  cheek. 
And  for  Palladium  wail  disconsolate." 

"If  they  within  those  flames  have  power  to  speak," 
I  said,  "O  Master,  once,  yea,  twice  I  pray,  *^ 

And  that  my  prayer  may  count  for  thousand  seek. 

Thou  wilt  not  to  my  waiting  here  say  Nay, 
Until  that  hornM  flame  hard  by  us  come; 
Thou  see'st  my  yearnings  make  me  lean  that  way." 

82  Among  the  many  single  fires  Dante  sees  a  double  one.  It  reminds  hitn 
of  the  description  given  by  his  favourite  Statius  (Thei.  xii.  429-432)  of  the 
two  sons  of  ^dipus,  Eteocles  and  Polynices,  who  died  by  each  other's 
hands,  and  were  placed  together  on  the  funeral  pyre,  and  then  exundant 
diviso  vertice  JlatnnuB,  the  hatred  of  the  two  brothers  manifesting  itself 
even  in  their  death  (Diod.  Sic.  iv.  67;  Eurip.  Phi^n.  55-80,  1368-1433). 

^  Ulysses  and  Diomed  are  placed  together  as  having  been  joined  in  the 
fraud  practised  on  Rhesus  (yEn.  i.  469)  and  in  the  theit  of  the  Palladium 
{yEn.  ii.  165),  as  well  as  in  the  device  of  the  Trojan  horse. 

62  Achilles,  who  had  married  Deidamia,  the  daughter  of  Lycomedes,  king 
of  Scyros,  was  concealed  m  his  court  and  lived  in  the  disguise  of  a  woman. 
Ulysses  and  Diomed  diecovered  his  retreat,  and  persuaded  him  to  come  to 
the  help  of  the  Greeks  in  the  Trojan  war.     Deidamia  died  of  grief. 
172 


HELL  CANTO  XXVI 

And  he:  " Full  many  praises  well  become  '" 

Thy  prayer,  and  I  receive  it  graciously; 
But  take  good  heed  that  now  thy  lips  be  dumb; 

Leave  speech  to  me:  I  have  in  my  mind's  eye 

What  thou  dost  wish,  for  they  perchance  might 

scorn. 
As  they  were  Greeks,  with  thy  words  to  comply."  '^ 

When  that  the  flame  was  thither  onward  borne 
Where  to  my  Leader  seemed  fit  time  and  place, 
I  heard  these  words  his  flowing  speech  adorn : 

"  O  ye  whom,  twain,  one  bright  fire  doth  embrace. 
If  while  I  lived  I  aught  from  you  could  claim,         ^ 
Or  if  that  claim  filled  great  or  little  space, 

When  in  the  world  I  wrote  my  verse  of  fame, 
I  pray  you  move  not,  but  let  one  relate, 
Where  he,  storm-driven,  to  his  death-hour  came. 

Of  th'  ancient  flame  the  horn  of  highest  state,  ^ 

Murmuring,  began  to  waver  to  and  fro. 
Like  that  which  winds  tempestuous  agitate; 

And  as  its  point  now  here,  now  there  did  go. 

As  though  it  were  the  tongue  with  which  it  spake. 
It  utterance  gave  to  voice  which  thus  did  flow:        "" 

"When  I  from  Circe  parted,  who  did  make 
Me  hide  a  year  and  more  Gaeta  near. 
Ere  from  ^neas  it  that  name  did  take. 

Neither  my  son's  sweet  presence,  nor  my  fear 

And  love  for  my  old  father,  nor  the  love  "* 

Which  should  have  given  Penelope  good  cheer, 

75  The  Greek  heroes,  it  is  assumed,  would  look  with  ill-will  on  the  living 
Florentines,  who  claimed  to  be  descended  from  the  Romans,  and  therefore 
from  the  Trojans,  with  whom  they  had  warred.  Virgil,  as  a  Mantuan,  was 
free  from  that  objection,  and  besides  could  plead,  as  in  1.  8i,  what  he  had 
done  to  perpetuate  their  fame. 

91  The  narrative  that  follows  is  remarkable  as  having  no  counterpart  in 
the  Trojan  cycle  of  Greek  or  Latin  writers.  Homer  makes  Ulysses  return 
from  the  island  of  Circe  to  Ithaca,  and  start  afterwards  on  new  voyages 
(Od.  X.  2IO,  xi.  119).  Here,  though  a  return  to  Ithaca  is  not  absolutely 
excluded,  the  impression  left  is  that  he  sails  westward  at  once  from  Gaeta. 
See  yC«.  vii.  1-4. 

173 


HELL  CANTO  XXVI 

Could  check  the  strong  desire  I  had  to  rove. 
And  so  become  experienced  in  mankind, 
With  human  vice  and  virtue  hand  in  glove. 

On  the  wide  sea  I  gave  me  to  the  wind,  "* 

With  one  sole  bark,  and  with  that  company, 
The  few  by  whom  I  ne'er  was  left  behind. 

Both  shores  as  far  as  Spain  then  met  mine  eye, 
Far  as  Morocco  and  Sardinia's  isle, 
And  others  that  on  all  sides  sea-girt  lie.  *"• 

I  and  my  friends  were  old  and  spent  with  toil. 
When  to  that  narrow  strait  we  came  at  last 
Where  Hercules  set  landmarks  on  the  soil. 

That  they  might  never  more  by  man  be  passed; 

On  the  right  hand  I  left  Seviglia's  shore,  *"• 

And  on  the  left  by  Ceuta  had  sailed  past. 

'  O  brothers,'  then  I  said,  '  who  evermore 

Through  thousand  toils  have  journeyed  to  the 

West, 
To  this  short  remnant  of  your  life  of  yore, 

Still  with  the  sense  of  watchful  insight  blest,  "' 

Deny  ye  not  the  great  experiment 
Of  worlds  unpeopled  where  the  sunsets  rest; 

104  Beyond  Morocco  the  voyager  passed  through  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
Calpe  and  Abile,  on  either  side  of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  Ceuta  is  on  the 
African  shore  of  the  Straits. 

112  Xhe  noble  passage  that  follows  has  been  made  familiar  to  English 
readers  by  Tennyson's  paraphase  in  his  Ulysses,  which,  somewhat  strangely, 
appears  without  any  reference  to  Dante.  A  comparison  with  yEn.  i.  198, 
Hon  Od.  I.  vii.  25,  suggests  the  thought  that,  as  in  the  previous  canto, 
Dante  had  measured  his  strength  against  Lucan  and  Ovid,  so  now  he  does 
not  shrink  from  competing  with  Horace,  and  even  with  his  own  Master  and 
guide,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew  him,  with  Homer.  He  feels  that  his  fame  also 
in  future  ages  will  be  as  that  of  the  poeta  sovrano.  In  the  absence  of  any 
traditional  foundation  for  such  a  history,  we  may  think  of  Dante  as  throwing 
himself  into  the  mind  and  temper  of  the  ideal  geographical  explorer,  helped 
possibly  by  some  intercourse  with  Marco  Polo  at  Venice,  or  some  knowledge 
of  the  Franciscan  traveller  Rubruquis  (d.  after  1293).  See  Note  on  C. 
xxi.  7.  We  may  compare  the  language  of  the  former,  when  he  addresses 
himself  to  "all  who  desire  to  get  knowledge  of  the  various  races  of  man- 
kind," and  tells  them  that,  since  the  days  of  Adam  "  no  man  of  any  nation 
hath  had  so  much  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  divers  parts  of  the  world 
and  its  wonders  "  as  he  had  had  (K»/<;,  i.  i).  Compare  also  the  letters  of 
Columbus  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  as  breathing  the  same  spirit. 
174 


HELL  CANTO  XXVI 

Let  your  thoughts  be  on  your  high  lineage  bent: 
Ye  were  not  born  to  live  as  lives  the  brute, 
But  to  seek  good  and  wisdom's  high  intent.'  '^ 

I  made  my  friends  so  eager  and  acute 

For  travel,  with  that  little  speech  of  mine. 

That  no  delay  thenceforth  their  mood  would  suit ; 

And,  our  stern  turned  to  where  the  mornings  shine. 
We  made  our  oars  as  wings  for  that  mad  flight,       ^^ 
Still  gaining  on  the  left  horizon  line : 

And  all  the  stars  I  saw  that  lit  the  night 

Of  the  other  pole,  our  own  being  sunk  so  low, 
It  rose  not  from  its  ocean  bed  to  sight. 

Five  times  was  kindled,  five  times  quenched  the  glow  ^^ 
By  which  the  moon's  inferior  face  was  lit. 
Since  into  that  deep  pass  'twas  ours  to  go, 

When  through  the  distance  dim  and  dark  did  flit 
The  vision  of  a  mount  that  seemed  so  high 
I  ne'er  had  looked  on  any  like  to  it.  '^ 

Joyous  were  we,  but  soon  there  came  a  cry, 

For  from  that  new  land  rose  a  whirlwind  blast, 
And  smote  the  good  ship's  prow  full  terribly. 

Three  times  amidst  the  water's  whirl  it  passed. 

Then  on  the  fourth  the  stern  aloft  did  rise,  "° 

The  prow  sank  as  Another  willed;  at  last 

The  sea's  wild  waters  closed  upon  our  eyes." 

126  We  have  to  transport  ourselves  to  the  geographical  notions  of  the  13th 
century.  Of  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  earth,  one,  containing  Europe,  Asia, 
and  the  parts  of  Africa  then  known,  was  thought  of  as  mainly  land  ;  the 
other,  unexplored,  as  covered  entirely  by  the  sea,  save  where  the  Mountain 
of  Purgatory  rises  at  the  antipodes  of  Jerusalem.  Dante  assumes  that  by 
perpetually  steering  to  the  west  the  voyagers  would  reach  that  meridian. 
On  his  hypothesis  and  measurements,  the  mountain  would  be  2050  miles 
from  Cadiz,  which  would  give  about  13  mi!es  a  day  for  the  five  months' 
voyage  of  1.  130.  One  asks  conjecturally  whether  the  Mount  of  Purgatory 
originated  in  any  dim  report  of  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe  brought  back  by 
adventurous  sailors?  The  only  starting-point  of  the  narrative,  in  all  its 
details  absolutely  new,  is  a  tradition  in  Pliny  that  Ulysses  in  a  second  voyage 
had  founded  the  city  of  Lisbon.  The  Canary  Islands,  of  which  Teneriffe  is 
one,  were  known  to  the  ancients  as  the  Fortunate  Isles,  the  Isles  of  the 
Blessed  (/*//».  v.  2).  The  first  record  of  them  in  modern  travel  appears 
in  1330. 

^75 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIl 

The  Eighth  Bolgia — The  State  of  Rtmagna — Guido  da 
Montefeltro 

Already  was  the  flame  erect  and  still. 

Speaking  no  more  and  turned  from  us  away. 
With  kindly  leave  from  my  sweet  Poet's  will. 

Behind  it  yet  another  fire  did  play, 

And  made  us  turn  our  eyes  to  its  high  flame  ^ 

By  sounds  confused  that  from  it  made  their  way. 

As  that  Sicilian  bull,  whose  bellowing  came 

First  from  his  moaning — and  that  doom  was  right — 
Who  with  his  file  had  modelled  out  its  frame. 

Bellowed  with  voice  of  torment  and  affright,  ^^ 

So  that,  though  it  was  fashioned  all  of  brass, 
It  seemed  as  if  transfixed  with  sore  despite. 

So,  as  they  had  no  way  nor  chink  to  pass 

From  their  source  in  the  flame,  the  words  of  woe 
Took  tone  and  accent  as  its  nature  was ;  " 

But  after  they  had  travelled  from  below 
Up  to  the  point,  thus  giving  it  the  turn 
The  tongue  impressed  upon  them  in  their  flow, 

We  heard  it  say,  "  O  thou  to  whom  I  yearn 

To  speak,  whose  speech  doth  as  a  Lombard's  sound,  ^ 
Saying,  '  Go  thy  way ;  I  need  not  more  to  learn  ! ' 

Because  I  am  as  somewhat  tardy  found. 

Let  it  not  irk  thee  with  me  now  to  speak  ; 

Thou  see'st  it  irks  not  me,  though  thus  fire-bound. 

*  The  bull  which  Perillus  made  for  Phalaris,  the  tyrant  of  Agrigentum, 
and  of  which  the  artist  himself  was  the  first  victim  (Plin.  xxiv.  8). 

1*  I  have  followed  the  v.  I.  w^/ instead  of  rtV/fuoco. 

21  The  speaker,  as  seen  in  1.  67,  is  Guido  da  Montefeltro.  The  starting- 
point  of  bis  address  lies  in  the  fact  that  in  the  words  which  he  quotes  here, 
as  spoken  by  Virgil  to  Ulysses,  there  are  two  (jssa  and  adizzd)  that  are 
conspicuously  of  the  dialect  of  Northern  Italy.  He  hears  the  Lombard 
speech  ;  he  would  fain  know  the  last  tidings  of  the  cities  and  men  he  had  left 
there.  The  question  is  passed  on  to  Dante,  jjnd  gives  him  the  opening  he 
wanted  for  uttering  his  thoughts  on  the  political  situation  at  the  time  when 
he  wrote  this  Canto  :  probably,  as  we  have  seen  in  C.  xix.  79,  80,  about  1314. 
"  Latin"  in  1.  26  is  obviously  used  in  its  wider  sense  as=  Italian. 
176 


HELL  CANTO  XXVII 

If  thou  but  lately  this  blind  world  dost  seek,  ^^ 

Fallen  from  that  sweet  Latin  land  above, 
Whence  I  drew  all  in  me  that's  vile  and  weak, 

Tell  me  if  peace  or  war  Romagnuols  prove  : 
I  from  the  hills  come  'twixt  Urbino's  town 
And  that  high  ridge  whence  Tiber's  waters  move."  ^ 

I  was  still  listening  with  my  head  bent  down. 

When    he,    my    Leader,    spoke,    and    touched    my 

side: 
"  Speak  thou,  for  he  too  is  as  Latin  known." 

And  I  with  answer  ready-made  replied. 

Beginning  then  my  speech  without  delay  :  ^ 

"  O  soul,  who  down  below  thyself  dost  hide, 

Romagna  never  was,  nor  is  this  day, 

Without  fierce  war  within  its  tyrants'  heart: 
But  none  was  open  when  I  came  away. 

Ravenna  through  long  years  plays  unchanged  part ;      *° 
The  Eagle  of  Polenta  nestles  there. 
And  its  wide  wings  o'er  Cervia  doth  dispart. 

29  Montefcltro  lay  between  Urbino  and  the  source  of  the  Tiber  in  Mount 
Coronaro. 

33  The  words  look  back  to  the  caution  that  had  been  given  in  C.  xxvi.  72. 
Here  the  soul  was  not  a  Greek,  but  Dante's  fellow  countryman. 

37  The  province  then  known  as  Romagna  was  bounded  on  the  S.  by 
Pesaro,  on  the  N.  by  the  Panaro  and  the  Po,  on  the  E.  by  ihe  Adriatic,  and 
on  the  W.  by  Tuscany.  Riivenna  was  its  capital,  and  it  included  also  the 
sub-provinces  of  BoIo;jna,  Forli,  and  Ferrara.  Tiie  name  was  given  (Lat. 
Komandiola  =  Little  Rome,  as  Byzantium  had  become  the  New  Rome),  when 
the  Exarchs  made  Ravenna  the  capital  of  the  Western  Empire. 

38  The  state  of  Romagna  in  1284  is  described  in  a  chronicle  of  Bologna 
(JWurai.  xviii.  286)  in  terms  that  remind  us  of  those  in  which  Thucydides 
described  the  state  of  Greece  during  the  Peloponnesian  War  (iii.  82-84). 
Every  city  was  torn  in  pieces  by  Guelph  and  Ghibelline  factions,  by  local 
and  personal  jealousies.  Hardly  a  day  passed  witiiout  a  murder,  hardly 
a  night  without  a  fire,  not  from  accident. 

■•i  The  eagle  of  Polenta  (his  arms  were  an  eagle  gules  on  a  field  or)  is 
Guido  da  Polenta,  the  father  of  the  Francesca  of  C.  v.  He  became  master 
of  Ravenna  after  a  tumult  in  1275;  was  said  to  have  placed  his  province 
under  the  protection  of  the  Pope  ;  was  deposed  and  expelled  in  1296  ;  was 
again  in  possession  of  Ravenna  in  1300,  but  was  probably  not  as  yet,  when 
Dante  wrote,  known  to  him,  as  his  nephew  was  afterwards,  as  a  friend  and 
protector  {Scart.'). 

^2  Cervia,  a  seaport  twelve  miles  from  Ravenn  i 

177  M 


HELL  CANTO  xxvii 

The  land  which  passed  through  trial  long  and  drear, 
And  laid  the  French  in  heaps  with  bloody  sword. 
Between  the  green  claws  doth  again  appear  :  ** 

Verrucchio's  mastiff  old  and  new-sprung  lord, 
Who  poor  Montagna  treacherously  slew. 
Have  with  their  teeth,  as  with  an  auger,  bored. 

Lamone's  city  and  Santerno's  too 

Are  ruled  by  Hoh's  whelp  in  argent  nest.  ^ 

Who  between  heat  and  frost  takes  party  new ; 

And  that  whose  slopes  by  Savio  are  caressed, 
As  it  lies  there  between  the  mount  and  plain. 
So  midway  lives,  half-free  and  half-oppressed. 

And  now,  I  pray  thee,  who  thou  art  explain  ;  ^ 

Be  not  more  stubborn  than  the  rest  are  found. 
So  may  thy  name  on  earth  its  place  maintain." 

43  The  land  is  Forli,  and  the  story  runs  thus :  Pope  Martin  IV.  sent  an 
expedition,  consisting  mainly  of  French  and  Provencal  troops,  to  take 
possession  of  Forli  (1282).  Guido  da  Montefeltro  (to  whose  spirit  Dante  is 
now  speaking)  was  then  in  command  there.  By  his  counsels,  the  city  gates 
were  left  open  and  the  soldiers  withdrawn.  The  French,  counting  on  an 
easy  victory,  entered  the  city,  which  they  looked  on  as  deserted,  were  taken 
as  in  a  trap,  and  massacred. 

^  A  lion  vert  in  a  field  or  were  the  arms  of  the  Ordelaffi,  then  the  lords  of 
Forli.  One  of  the  uncertain  Dante  traditions  is,  that  he  was  for  a  time 
ecretary  to  Scarpetta  degli  Ordelaffi. 

^  The  "mastiff  old"  (the  word  may  refer  either  to  character  or  armorial 
bearings,  or  both)  is  Malatesta  (not/ten  et  omen)  of  Rimini,  the  father  of  the 
Paolo  and  Gianciotto  of  C.  v.  The  "  new-sprung  lord  "  is  Malatestino,  their 
elder  brother,  who  succeeded  his  father  in  1312.  Verrucchio  was  a  castle 
given  by  the  people  of  Rimini  to  Malatesta.  Montagna  di  Parcitade,  the 
head  of  the  Ghibellines,  was  slain  by  Malatesta  and  the  Guelphs  {Murat. 
XV.  894,  895).  The  line  that  follows  might  almost  serve  as  a  motto  for  the 
Italian  history  of  the  period,  as  summing  up  the  policy  of  well  nigh  every 
popular  leader,  Podesta,  Capitano  del  Popolo,  soldier  of  fortune,  whether 
Guelph  or  Ghibelline  {Barl.). 

*8  Lamone,  the  river  on  which  Faenza  stands  ;  Santerno,  that  of  Imola. 
The  "  lion's  whelp  "  describes  the  armorial  bearings  of  Maghinardo  Pagano, 
who  became  lord  of  Imola  in  1296  (Murat.  xiv.  1113).  The  next  line  points 
to  the  shifting  policy  of  the  soldier  of  fortune,  now  a  Ghibelline,  now  fighting 
on  the  side  of  the  Guelph  Florentines  at  Campaldino  in  1289  (Vill.  vii.  149), 
and  joining  Charles  of  Valois  (hence  Dante's  indignation)  on  his  entry  into 
Florence  in  1300. 

52  The  city  on  the  Savio  is  Cesena,  in  whose  local  situation  Dante  sees 
the   type  of  its  political.     It  was  conspicuous  for  its  frequent  changes  of 
Podesta  and  its  expulsion  of  suspected  nobles  {Murat.  xiv.  1121). 
178 


HELL  CANTO  xxvir 

And  when  the  flame  had  made  its  wonted  sound 
A  little  while,  its  point  waved  to  and  fro, 
And  then  their  way  the  whispering  murmurs  wound :  ^ 

"If  I  had  deemed  my  answer  e'er  should  go 

To  one  whose  steps  should  to  the  world  return, 
This  flame  would  stand,  nor  further  flickering  show ; 

But  inasmuch  as  from  this  dismal  bourne 

No  living  man  returns,  if  truth  I  hear,  ** 

I  make  my  answer  with  no  fear  of  scorn. 

1  was  a  man  of  arms,  then  Cordelier, 

Deeming  that  I,  so  girt,  might  make  amend  ; 
And  true  enough  that  deeming  might  appear, 

But  that  the  High  Priest — evil  be  his  end  ! —  "''* 

Sent  me  back  yet  again  to  former  crime ; 
And  how  and  why  I  will  thou  apprehend. 

While  I  in  bone  and  flesh  yet  lived  my  time 
In  form  my  mother  gave  me,  every  deed 
Did  with  the  fox-mood,  not  the  lion's,  chime.  ^* 

The  shifts  and  byways  underground  that  lead. 
All  these  I  knew,  and  so  applied  each  art. 
The  fame  thereof  made  all  the  world  give  heed ; 

61  The  life  of  Guido  da  Montefcltro  is  so  conspicuously  typical  of  the  time 
that  it  may  be  well  to  fill  up  Dante's  outlines.  Born  before  1250,  he  was 
made  captain  of  the  Romagna  Ghibellines  in  1274,  defeated  the  Guelphs  of 
Bologna  and  Malatesta  in  1275,  and  became  master  of  Cesena  in  1276  ,"  he 
was  Capitano  of  Forli,  and  occupied  Romagna  against  the  Pope.  In  1286, 
if  not  earlier,  he  was  reconciled  to  the  Papacy,  but  was  elected  as  their 
general  by  the  Ghibelline  Pisans  in  1288,  and  was  again  excommunicated. 
He  defended  Pisa  against  the  Guelphs  and  restored  order  and  good  govern- 
ment there,  but  after  taking  Cesena  in  1292,  was  expelled  from  Pisa  in 
1294.  He  was  then  once  more  reconciled  to  the  Church  and  became  a 
Franciscan  friar.  He  died  in  1298  and  was  buried  at  Assisi  (?)•  Dante 
speaks  of  him  in  Conv.  iv.  28  as  il  nobilissimo  tiostro  Latino  {Miirat.,  f^'ill., 
and  many  chronicles  in  Scart.).  The  narrative  that  follows  gives  the  poet's 
account  of  the  closing  events  of  his  life.     His  son  is  found  in  Purg.  v.  88. 

67  Cordelier,  the  popular  name  for  a  Franciscan  friar,  from  the  cord  which 
was  the  badge  of  the  Order.     See  C.  xvi.  106. 

70  The  high  priest,  Ponti/ex  Summus,  is  Boniface  VIII. 

"^^  The  history  of  Guido  would  seem  to  indicate  a  combination  of  the  fox 
and  lion  natures,  rather  than  one  exclusively  vulpine.  A  chronicler  of  Asti 
(Murat.  xi.  188)  describes  him  as  ^'  safiientisshnus,  /ortis,  largus,  et 
callidissitiius  in  bellaiido."  One  of  Pisa,  however,  relates  that  when  he 
appeared  against  the  Florentines,  they  raised  the  cry,  "  Ecco  la  Volpc." 

•79 


HELL  CANTO  XXVII 

And  when  I  knew  that  I  had  reached  that  part 

Of  life  when  for  each  single  soul  'tis  right  ^ 

To  reef  the  sails  and  coil  the  ropes  apart. 

That  which  before  had  pleased  now  gave  despite. 
Contrite  and  shriven,  I  knelt  on  bended  knees, 
Ah  woe  is  me  !   and  had  found  help  of  might, 

But  that  the  chief  of  our  new  Pharisees,  ^•' 

At  war  with  foes  hard  by  the  Lateran — 
Not  Saracens  nor  even  Jews  were  these, 

Those  foes  of  his  were  Christians,  every  man. 
And  none  to  conquer  Acre  went  to  fight, 
Nor  trafficked  in  the  land  of  the  Soldan.  ^ 

Nor  sacred  orders  nor  his  post  of  might 
Did  he  regard,  nor  yet  that  cord  of  mine. 
Which  whoso  wore  grew  thinner  in  men's  sight; 

But,  as  Sylvester  was  by  Constantine 

Called  from  Soratt',  his  leprosy  to  heal,  °^ 

So  he  called  me,  as  skilful  to  divine. 

For  that  proud  fever,  cure  to  work  his  weal : 
He  asked  my  counsel  and  I  held  my  peace, 
For  those  his  words  did  drunkard's  thoughts  reveal. 

80  The  passage  is  almost  a  rhymed  paraphrase  of  Conv.  iv.  28,  in  which 
Dante  dwells  on  the  wisdom  of  using  old  age  as  a  time  for  meditation,  and 
points  to  Lancelot  of  the  Lake,  who  became  a  hermit,  and  Guido  da  Monte- 
feltro  as  examples.  The  facts  recorded  here  may  have  come  to  Dante  s 
knowledge  after  he  wrote  the  Convito. 

85  The  "  new  Pharisees"  are  the  Curia  Romana  as  it  was  under  Boniface. 
The  term  was  constantly  applied  by  Frederick  II.  to  the  Popes  with  whom 
he  was  in  conflict  (Kington,  ii.  137).  The  "foes"  were  the  house  of  Colonna, 
whose  possessions  were  near  the  Lateran.  Boniface  quarrelled  with  them 
about  a  treasure  which  they  were  accused  of  appropriating,  deposed  the 
Cardinals  who  belonged  to  their  family,  laid  waste  their  palaces,  and  issued 
a  bull  against  them  (Murai.  xviii.  301  ;   Fz7/.  viii.  21  ;  Scart.). 

89  Acre,  the  last  possession  of  the  Christians  in  Palestine,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Saracens  in  1291.  The  Colonnas  were  to  be  the  objects  of  the 
next  crusade. 

9*^  The  "cord,"  which  was,  in  idea  at  least,  the  badge  of  poverty  and 
abstinence.     C.  xvi.  106  ;  Par.  xi.  87,  xii.  132. 

94  The  story  of  the  donation  of  Constantine  is  told  as  it  passed  current  in 
the  13th  century,  as  Dante  found  it  in  his  master's  Tesoro  (ii.  25).  Constan- 
tine, like  another  Naaman,  came  to  Sylvester,  then  in  retirement  atSoracte, 
now  Sant'  Oreste,  to  be  healed  of  leprosy  ;  was  healed  in  the  waters  of 
baptism,  and  then  assigned  the  States  of  the  Church  to  the  Bishops  of  Rome 
in  perpetuity.     Comp.  C.  xix.  115. 

180 


HELL  CANTO  XXVII 

Then  he,  'Let  not  thine  heart  be  ill  at  ease;  ^"^ 

I  from  all  sin  absolve  thee;  teach  thou  me 
How  Palestrina  from  the  earth  may  cease; 

I,  as  thou  know'st,  have  power  to  ope  for  thee, 

Or  close,  Heaven's  gates,  wherefore  the  keys  are  twain. 
Which  he  held  cheap  who  here  preceded  me.'         *" 

His  weighty  reasonings  then  did  me  constrain. 

There  where  it  seemed  worst  counsel  to  be  dumb. 
And  I  said,  '  Since,  O  Father,  every  stain 

Thou  dost  wash  off  that  on  me  now  must  come. 

Promise  profuse,  fulfilment  scant  and  late,  "" 

Will  make  thee  triumph  in  thy  lofty  home.' 

Then  Francis  came,  when  I  had  passed  death's  gate, 
For  me  ;  but  one  of  those  swarth  cherubin 
Said,  *  Take  him  not ;  defraud  not  my  estate  ; 

Down  'mong  my  varlets  he  must  needs  come  in,  "' 

Because  he  gave  the  counsel  fraudulent. 
For  which  till  now  I  at  his  hair  have  been  ; 

There  is  no  pardon  for  the  impenitent. 
And  penitence  goes  not  with  evil  will  ; 
Things  thus  opposed  may  not  by  us  be  blent.'  '^ 

101  The  words  imply  (i)  that  the  claim  to  absolve  by  anticipation  was  not 
unknown ;  (2)  that  IJante  as  a  theologian  rejected  it  as  untenable  and 
contrary  to  the  faith. 

102  Penestrino  (=  Palestrina)  was  a  stronghold  of  the  Colonnas.  As  told 
by  ym.  viii.  23,  the  story  runs  that  Boniface  invited  them  to  Rieti,  and  on 
their  submission  freed  them  from  excommunication  and  promised  to  restore 
them  to  their  possessions.  In  the  meantime,  while  they  were  off  theii  guard, 
he  took  and  destroyed  the  fortress  of  Palestrina  on  the  hill,  and  built  a  new 
town,  Civita  Papale,  on  the  plain.  And  this,  Villani  says,  was  by  the  advice 
of  Guide  da  Montefeltro,  who  spoke  in  the  very  words  of  1.  no,  "  Piurima 
eis  pollicemini  ;  patica  observate." 

1"  It  was  the  belief  of  those  of  whom  Milton  speaks,  who — 
"  Dying,  put  on  the  weeds  of  Dominic, 
Or  in  Franciscan  think  to  pass  disguised," 
that  they  were  at  the  hour  of  death  taken  under  the  protection  of  the  patron 
saint  of  the  Order ;  that  his  cord  drew  them  from  the  pit  of  Hell.     The 
phrase  "  swarth  cherubin  "  implies  the  theory  that  some  of  each  grade  of  the 
heavenly  hierarchy  had  taken  their  part  in  the  great   rebellion,  and  that 
therefore  there  were  Cherubin  and  Seraphin,  Principalities  and  Powers,  in 
Hell.     Eph.  vi.  12  would  obviously  lend  a  colour  to  such  a  belief. 

118  The   accusing  angel  reasons  as  Aquinas  reasons  {Summ.  iii.    gu.  86, 
art.  2).    Absolution  assumes  penitence.     There  can  be  no  penitence  for  a 
181 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

Ah  me  !  what  anguish  through  my  soul  did  thrill 
When  he  had  seized  me,  saying,  '  Thou,  may  be, 
Deera'dst  not  that  I  could  boast  logician's  skill?" 

So  he  to  Minos  brought  me,  and  then  he 

Eight  times  around  his  strong  back  curled  his  tail    ^'^ 
And  bit  it  in  his  wrath's  ferocity, 

And  said,  '  With  sinners  of  the  fiery  veil 

He  goes.'     And  so  I'm  lost  in  this  drear  seat, 
And  in  this  ga-b  I  tell  my  sorrow's  tale." 

And  when  he  thus  had  made  his  speech  complete,      ^^ 
The  flame  <leparted,  moaning  yet  once  more, 
Its  sharp  horn  writhing  in  vibrations  fleet. 

My  Leader  then  and  I  passed  on  before. 
Up  o'er  the  rock  another  arch  above, 
Which  hides  the  fosse  where  they  pay  forfeit  sore  ^^' 

Who,  sowing  discord,  heavy-burdened  move. 


CANTO  XXVIII 

Tie  Ninth  Bolgia — The  Schismatics — Mahomet,  yili,  Bertrand 
de  Born,  and  Others 

Who  with  free  speech  unrhymed  could  utter  well 
And  fully  all  the  blood  and  many  a  wound 
Which  now  I  saw,  though  oft  the  tale  he  tell  ? 

Each  tongue,  I  trow,  too  feeble  would  be  found. 

By  reason  that  our  speech  and  mental  sight  ^ 

For  such  great  themes  have  far  too  small  a  bound. 

sin  when  the  man  intends  to  commit  it.  Absolution  by  anticipation  is, 
therefore,  a  contradiction  in  terms. 

'25  I'he  act  as  thus  described  placed  the  offender  in  the  eighth  circle, 
among  the  evil  counsellors.  Not  even  St.  Francis  could  save  him  from  that 
condemnation. 

1  The  irilgrims  enter  on  the  ninth  Bolgia,  that  of  the  authors  of  schism. 

^  An  obvious  reproduction  of  Ain.  vi.  624-627. 

1'  A  V.  I.  gives  "  Romans,"  but  it  was  quite  after  Dante's  maimer  to 
describe  them  by  the  name  of  the  older  race,  on  whom  he  looked  as  the 
182 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

If  all  the  host  should  once  again  unite 
Which  of  old  time  upon  the  fateful  land 
Of  Puglia  mourned  the  bloodshed  of  the  fight, 

Caused  by  long  war  and  by  the  Roman's  hand,  '" 

When  of  the  rings  were  made  such  high-heaped  spoil. 
As  Livy  writes,  whose  words  unerring  stand. 

With  that  which  felt  the  pain  of  blows  erewhile, 
'Gainst  Robert  Guiscard  in  hot  warfare  set, 
And  that  whose  bones  are  gathered  in  the  soil  ^^ 

Of  Ceperan,  where  each  Apulian  met 
A  traitor  proved  ;  at  Tagliaco^zo  too. 
Where  old  Alardo,  unarmed,  conquered  yet ; 

If  some  with  limbs  lopped  off,  and  some  pierced  through, 
Should  show,  they  would  no  parallel  provide  ^° 

To  that  ninth  Bolgia's  fashion,  foul  to  view. 

A  cask  that  loses  centre  board  or  side 

Was  never  so  pierced  through  as  I  saw  one 

Rent  from  chin  down  to  where  hind-parts  divide ; 

Between  his  legs  his  entrails  all  hung  down,  '* 

His  heart's  recess  and  that  foul  sack  lay  bare. 
Where  what  we  eat  as  excrement  is  thrown. 

And  while  on  him  with  fixed  eyes  I  stare. 

He  looked  at  me,  and  with  his  hands  his  breast 
Oped  wide,  and  said,  "  See  how  myself  I  tear  ;         ^ 

founders  of  Rome.  The  reference  is  (i)  to  the  Samnite  wars,  of  which 
Apulia  was  the  chief  scene  ;  (2)  to  the  slaughter  of  Cannae,  after  which 
Hannibal  sent  to  Carthage  three  bushels  of  rings  taken  from  the  corpses  of 
the  slain  (Liv.  xxiii.  12).     Dante  refers  again  to  the  fact  in  Cam/,  iv.  5. 

1*  Robert  Guiscard,  son  of  Tancred  de  Hauteville  of  Normandy,  who 
defeated  the  Papal  and  Imperial  forces  at  the  battle  of  Civitella,  the  Hastings 
of  Italy,  and  was  afterwards  recognised  by  the  Pope  as  Duke  of  Apulia 
(Kington,  i.  15  ;  Vili.  iv.  18,  ig). 

16  Ceperano  was  the  scene  of  a  battle  (which  Dante  seems  to  mix  up  with 
the  greater  battle  of  Benevento)  between  Manfred  and  Charles  of  Anjou,  in 
which  the  former  was  defeated  and  slain.  The  Apulians  for  the  most  part 
fled  (Vm.  vii.  5-9  ;  Murat.  xi.  158). 

17  Tagliacozzo,  a  castle  in  the  Abruzzi,  where  in  1268  the  young  Conradin 
was  defeated  by  Charles  of  Anjou.  Alardo  ci  Valleri  was  one  of  Charles's 
French  generals,  by  whose  wise  strategy  rather  than  mere  force  of  arms  the 
victory  was  gained  (Vill.  vii.  26,  27). 

'■^  The  horrible  description  seems  in  parts  an  echo  of  Lucan  ix.  773.     I 
have  euphemised  the  over-bold  plainness  of  the  original. 
183 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

See  how  Mahomet  maimed  is  manifest. 

Before  me  AH  goes  and  wails  aloud. 

Sharp  cloven  from  the  chin  to  forelock's  crest, 
And  all  the  rest  of  whom  thou  see'st  the  crowd 

Were  sources  in  their  lifetime  of  offence  ^ 

And  schism  ;  therefore  mangled  are  they  bowed. 
A  devil  stands  behind,  of  cunning  fence, 

Who  with  sharp  blows  and  stroke  of  sharpest  sword 

Tortures  each  soul  of  all  this  pack  immense : 
When  we  have  travelled  o'er  that  road  abhorred,  ^^ 

Because  our  wounds  are  closed  again,  each  one, 

Ere  pass  before  him  any  of  our  horde. 
But  who  art  thou  who  from  the  crag  look'st  on,    [ 

Seeking  perchance  thy  torment  to  delay 

Which  is  adjudged  thee  for  thy  ill  deeds  done  ? "     ^ 
"Not  dead  is  he,  nor  guilt  leads  him  this  way," 

My  Master  said,  "  that  he  should  tortured  be  ; 

But  that  he  may  experience  full  assay, 
I,  who  am  dead,  must  lead  by  Heaven's  decree. 

And  guide  him  through  all  Hell  from  round  to  round;  ^ 

And  this  is  true  just  as  I  tell  it  thee." 
More  than  a  hundred,  when  they  heard  that  sound. 

Stopped  in  the  fosse  and  turned  to  look  on  me. 

Forgetting,  in  their  wonder,  each  his  wound. 
"To  Fra  Dolcino  say  thou  this,  that  he  ^ 

(Thou  who  perchance  wilt  soon  see  daylight's  glow). 

Unless  to  join  me  here  he  willing  be, 

31  The  standpoint  from  which  Dante  looks  on  Mahomet,  not  as  the  founder 
of  a  new  religion,  but  as  the  author  of  a  schism,  like  that  of  the  Novatianists 
or  the  Donatists,  is  singularly  characteristic  of  mediaeval  thought.  In  the 
form  of  punishment  he  seems  to  have  had  in  his  mind  the  literal  meaning  of 
the  word.  The  author  of  division  is  himself  divided.  The  special  form  of 
All's  doom,  in  which  the  face,  which  in  Mahomet  was  left  whole,  is  cloven 
from  brow  to  chin,  indicates  apparently  his  position  as  the  author  of  a  new 
schism  among  the  followers  of  the  false  prophet. 

34  A  list  of  those  whom  Dante  had  in  his  mind  would  be  an  instructive  com- 
mentary, from  his  standpoint,  on  Church  history ;  but  we  must  acquiesce  in 
his  reticence. 

B5  In  the  mention  of  Fra  Dolcino  we  have  a  partial  glimpse  into  what  such 
a  commentary  would  have  been.  All  that  we  know  of  him  comes  from  his 
184 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

Should  store  himself  with  food,  lest  piled-up  snow 
Should  to  the  Novarese  bring  victory, 
Which  else  to  gain  were  no  light  task,  I  trow."        "^ 

So,  with  one  foot  for  turning  lifted  high, 
Spake  Mahomet  to  me  the  words  I  write  ; 
Then  on  the  ground  he  laid  it  to  pass  by. 

Another,  with  his  throat  pierced  through  outright. 
And  his  nose  lopped  from  just  below  the  eyes,  ** 

And  but  one  ear  remaining,  at  the  sight 

Stopped  with  the  rest  to  gaze  in  sheer  surprise, 
And  then  before  those  others  oped  his  throat. 
Which  all  without  was  stained  in  blood-red  guise. 

And  said,  "O  thou,  who  bear'st  of  guilt  no  note,         ''° 
Whom  I  of  old  in  Latin  land  have  seen. 
If  too  great  likeness  tend  not  to  promote 

Deceit,  remember  Pier  of  Medicine, 

If  e'er  thou  turn'st  to  see  the  pleasant  plain 

Which  doth  from  Vercell '  to  Marcabo  lean,  ^^ 

And  say  to  Fano's  best  and  worthiest  twain, 
As  Guido  and  as  Angiolello  known. 
That,  if  our  gift  of  foresight  be  not  vain, 

enemies  and  judges,  and  their  story  is  sufficiently  black.  He  appears  as  a 
member  of  an  Order  of  "  Apostolic  Brothers,"  founded  by  Gerard  Sagarelli 
of  Parma  in  1260.  He  was  said  to  proclaim  that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  the 
great  harlot  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  to  have  taught  the  community  of  goods 
and  women,  and  frii^htful  stories  were  told  of  his  personal  licentiousness.  He 
had  about  1400  followers,  chiefly  in  Northern  Italy.  Clement  V.  proclaimed 
a  crusade  against  him,  and  he  was  besieged  in  a  mountain  stronghold  near 
Vercelli  by  an  army  of  which  Novara  furnished  the  largest  contingent.  The 
fort  was  taken  in  March  1307,  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  having  deprived  the 
besieged  of  all  provisions  from  without,  and  after  three  months  in  prison  he 
and  many  of  his  followers  were  burnt  alive  at  Novara  (Murai.  ix.  in  Scart. 
431-460;  Milman,  Z.  C.  vii.  355-368).  See  Mariotti  (2'.£.,  Gallenga,  Fra 
Dolcino,  for  a  full  history  of  the  man  and  of  his  times. 

73  Pier  de'  Cattani  of  Medicina,  near  Bologna,  was  notable  as  having 
sown  discords  among  the  cities  and  lords  of  the  Romagna,  specially  between 
Guido  da  Polenta  (see  note  on  C.  xxvii.  41)  of  Ravenna  and  Malatestino  of 
Rimini,  carrying  to  each  evil  reports  against  the  other.  The  man  must  have 
been  well  known  to  Dante  in  his  later  years  {Anon.  Fior.  in  Scart.). 

79  The  description  includes  the  great  plain  of  Lombardy,  from  Vercelli  in 
the  N.W.  to  Marcab6,  a  fortress  in  the  territory  of  Ravenna,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Po. 

77  Guido  del  Cassero  and  Angiolello  of  Cagnano  were  two  of  the  leading 
185 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

They  from  their  ship  shall  overboard  be  thrown, 

Drowned  near  Cattolica,  in  no  long  while,  ** 

Through  crime  of  one  as  fellest  tyrant  known. 

Between  Majolica  and  Cyprus  isle 

Neptune  ne'er  saw  a  crime  so  great  as  this 
Wrought  by  fierce  pirates  or  by  Argive  guile. 

That  traitor  who  one  orb  of  sight  doth  miss,  ^ 

And  holds  the  land  which  one  who  is  with  me 
Would  fain  had  never  fed  those  eyes  of  his, 

Will  bid  them  come  to  speech  of  amity, 
And  then  so  act  that  'gainst  Focara's  wind 
They  will  not  need  or  prayer  or  piteous  cry."  * 

And  I  to  him :  "  Speak  out  and  tell  thy  mind. 
If  'tis  thy  will  that  I  of  thee  should  speak. 
Who  is  it  would  that  sight  so  bitter  find?" 

Then  did  he  lay  his  hand  upon  the  cheek 

Of  one  of  those  his  mates  and  oped  his  jaw,  *^ 

Crying,  "  This  is  he ;  he  cannot  silence  break. 

men  of  Fano,  a  city  on  the  Adriatic,  about  thirty  miles  from  Rimini. 
Malatestino,  lord  of  the  latter  city  (see  note  on  C.  xxvii.  46),  wishing  to 
obtain  possession  of  Fano,  invited  them  to  meet  him  at  Cattolica,  on  the 
Adriatic  coast,  and  ordered  the  sailors  of  the  ship  by  which  they  came  to 
throw  them  into  the  sea  (Anon.  Fior.  in  Scart.).  The  deed  filled  all 
Romagna  with  the  horror  which  the  next  line  expi  esses. 

82  Cyprus,  as  the  most  eastern,  Majorca,  as  the  most  western,  of  the 
islands  in  the  Mediterranean. 

"4  "Argive"  is  probably  used  for  the  Greek  corsairs  who  infested  the 
Adriatic  Gulf. 

85  Malatestino  was  commonly  known  as  the  "  man  with  the  eye,"  having 
lost  one.  He  was,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  half-brother  of  Gianciotto  and 
Paolo,  and  also  of  Pandolfo,  the  best  of  the  family.  The  Counts  of  Ghiazola 
were  descended  from  Paolo  (Murai.  xv.  896,  in  Scart.). 

89  The  wind  of  Focara,  a  mountain  near  Cattolica,  was  proverbially 
dangerous  to  sailors  in  that  region.  Sailors  used  to  pray  that  '  God  would 
keep  them  from  that  wind."  The  victims  of  Malatesta's  fraud  would  neither 
need  nor  profit  by  such  prayers. 

86  The  special  form  of  mutilation  from  which  Curio  (1.  102)  suffered  was 
that  his  tongue  was  split.  The  advice  which  he  gave  Caesar  is  found  in  two 
memorable  lines  of  Dante's  favourite  Lucan  (i.  280)  : 

"  Vum  trepidant  nulla  Jimtata  robore  partes, 
Tolle  moras;  semper  nocuit  differre paratis." 
Commentators,  so  far  as  I  know,  have  not  noticed  how  closely  the  preceding 
lines  must  have  connected  themselves,  except  perhaps  in  the  "volentes," 
with  Dante's  fortunes.  "We,"  Curio,  '^ audax  venali  lingud"  says  to 
Csesar  before  he  crossed  the  Rubicon — ^^ pcUimur  t  patriis  laribus,  pati- 
186 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

fie,  when  in  exile,  crushed  the  doubting  awe 
Of  Caesar,  saying  that  it  breeds  but  ill 
When  one  forearmed  delays  the  sword  to  draw." 

Ah  me!  what  terror  seemed  his  soul  to  fill,  *"" 

With  tongue  in  throat  thus  slit  and  voiceless  left, 
That  Curio,  once  so  bold  of  speech  and  will. 

And  one  of  hands  both  left  and  right  bereft. 
Lifting  the  stumps  up  in  the  murky  air. 
So  that  the  blood  his  face  all  filthy  left,  *" 

Cried,  "  Mosca  too  thou  shalt  in  memory  bear," 
Who  cried  (Ah  me!),  'A  deed  done,  there's  an 

end!' 
Ill  seed  for  all  whom  Tuscan  land  doth  rear." 

"  And  death  to  all  thy  race,"  did  I  append. 

Then  he,  with  sorrow  heaped  on  sorrow  high,         "*^ 
Passed  on,  as  one  whose  griefs  to  madness  tend. 

But  I  remained  to  watch  that  company. 

And  saw  a  thing  which  well  might  make  me  dread 
To  tell  it  without  proof  of  verity. 

But  that  my  conscience  stands  me  in  good  stead,         "* 
Companion  good,  that  makes  a  man  full  bold. 
By  breastplate  of  pure  heart  encompassed. 

murque  volentes  exilium."  Advice,  like  Curio's,  from  the  fierce  GhibelHne 
associates  with  whom  his  own  exile  brought  him  into  contact,  may  often 
have  presented  itself  as  a  temptation  against  which  Dante  had  to  fight  by 
representing  to  himself  the  ultimate  outcome  of  such  words  for  the  speaker 
and  those  who  followed  his  counsels. 

106  The  story  of  Mosca  de'  Lamberti  carries  us  back  to  the  Buondelmonte 
tragedy  in  which  Dante  saw  the  beginning  of  evils  for  himself  and  his  city. 
A  young  member  of  that  family  in  1215  was  betrothed  to  a  maiden  of  the 
house  of  the  Amidei.  He  was  faithless  to  his  promise,  an'i  married  instead 
the  daughter  of  one  of  the  Donati.  The  Amidei  and  all  their  friends  met  to 
concert  measures  of  revenge.  Various  plans  were  proposed,  but  Mosca 
clenched  the  matter  with  the  words,  "  Cosa  fatta  capo  ha."  And  so  on 
Easter  morning,  as  Buondelmonte  was  riding  near  the  Ponte  Vecchio,  he 
was  assassinated  by  the  Uberti,  Amidei,  Lamberti,  and  others.  Here  also  we 
note  the  protest  of  the  high-souled  exile  against  the  most  popular  of  the 
maxims  of  the  Italian  vendetta. 

115  The  words  are  possibly  more  than  a  mere  attestation  to  clothe  a  poetic 
fiction,  after  the  manner  of  the  Arabian  Nights  or  Robi7ison  Crusoe,  with 
an  air  of  verisimilitude.  Dante's  conscience  is  so  clear  from  the  guilt  of 
giving  false  and  treacherous  counsels  that  he  has  courage  to  describe  its 
penalty,  however  horrible. 

187 


HELL  CANTO  XXVIII 

I  then  beheld,  and  still  seem  to  behold, 
A  trunk  without  a  head  pass  on  before, 
As  passed  the  others  of  that  mournful  fold,  ^^ 

And  by  the  locks  its  head,  lopped  off,  it  bore. 
Hung  in  the  hand,  in  fashion  lantern-wise, 
And  "Ah  me!"  muttering,  gazed  with  looks  full 
sore, 

And  for  itself  itself  a  lamp  supplies; 

And  they  were  two  in  one  and  one  in  two :  ^^ 

How  it  could  be  He  knows  who  doth  devise. 

And  when  towards  the  bridge's  foot  it  drew. 

To  bring  its  words  more  near,  with  head  in  hand. 
His  arras  he  lifted  up,  full  in  our  view. 

And  said,  "  The  pain  thou  now  canst  understand,       '^ 
Who,  breathing  life,  art  come  the  dead  to  see ; 
See  if  aught  great  as  this  thou  e'er  hast  scanned; 

And  that  thou  may'st  true  news  report  of  me. 
Know  thou  my  name,  Bertram  dal  Bornio, 
Who  John,  the  king,  misled  to  treachery;  ^^ 

The  son  and  sire  I  made  as  foe  to  foe. 
E'en  as  Ahithophel  made  Absalom 
And  David,  by  his  counsels  fraught  with  woe. 

Because  I  severed  ties  of  kin  and  home, 

I  bear,  ah  me !  my  own  skull  severed  here  '*• 

From  its  true  stock,  which  doth  in  this  trunk  come: 

Measure  for  measure  is  in  me  seen  clear." 

134  Bertram  dal  Bornio,  Viscount  of  Altaforte,  in  Gascony  (C.  xxix.  29), 
was  conspicuous  as  warrior,  statesman,  troubadour  (K.  E.  ii.  2).  He  instigated 
Prince  Henry,  the  eldest  son  of  Henry  II.,  to  rebel  against  his  father.  On 
the  Prince's  death  in  1183,  the  king  besieged  and  took  Altaforte,  but  pardoned 
Bertram.  After  this  he  stirred  up  a  rebellion  against  Alphonso  1 1,  of  Arragon, 
took  part  in  the  war  between  Richard  I.  and  Philip  Augustus,  and  finally 
died  a  Cistercian  monk. 

135  The  readings  vary  between  re  giovane  ("the  young  king")  and 
"  Giovanni."  Historically  the  former  is  correct,  but  MSS.  and  early  com- 
mentators support  the  latter.  Dante's  knowledge  of  the  facts  may  have  been 
as  vague  as  that  of  his  interpreters.  On  the  whole,  it  seems  probable  that 
giovane  was  a  correction  for  the  sake  of  accuracy.  (See  Barl.,  Scari.,  and 
Arrio.  44). 

137  See  2  Sam.  xv.  12,  xvi.  15,  xvii. 

188 


HELL  CANTO  XXIX 

The  Tenth  Bolg'ta — The  Alchemists — GriffoUno  of  Are%%o — 
Capocchio 

That  numerous  people  and  their  diverse  woes 

So  made  mine  eyes,  as  drunk  with  grief,  o'er-wrought, 
That  they  would  fain  have  found  in  tears  repose; 

But  Virgil  said,  "Why  gaze  in  eager  thought? 

Why  doth  thy  glance  so  fixedly  abide  ^ 

Down   there   among   those   maimed   shades  sorrow- 

I'  the  other  pits  thus  hast  thou  never  pried,  [fraught? 
Think,  if  thou  deem'st  thou  canst  the  shadows  count, 
For  miles  a  score  and  two  the  vale  winds  wide, 

And  now  our  feet  above  the  moon  do  mount;  ^° 

Brief  is  the  season  now  to  us  allowed. 
And  the  unseen  exceeds  the  seen's  amount." 

"  If  thou  hadst  given,"  then  answered  I  aloud, 
"Due  heed  unto  the  cause  that  made  me  gaze, 
Thou  this  my  lingering  hadst  perchance  allowed."  '* 

My  Leader  then  passed  on,  and  in  his  ways 
I  followed,  even  as  I  answer  made. 
And  added,  "In  that  den  whereon  I  gaze 

With  eager  look,  in  durance  sad  is  laid 

A  spirit  of  my  blood,  that  weeps  and  wails  ^ 

The  guilt  for  which  such  heavy  fine  is  paid." 

Then  said  my  Guide,  "  Take  heed  no  thought  assail 
Thy  mind  to  bend  it  there  where  he  doth  dwell; 
Elsewhere  look  thou ;  let  him  to  move  thee  fail ; 

1  The  absorbed  contemplation  falls  in  with  what  has  been  said  above  as  to 
the  thoughts  which  passed  through  the  poet's  mind  as  he  compared  the 
authors  of  divisions  in  the  past  with  those  among  whom  his  own  lot  was  cast. 

*♦  The  one  instance  of  a  definite  measurement  in  the  Inferno.  If  this  was 
the  size  of  the  ninth  Bolgia,  those  above  it  and  the  higher  circles  must  have 
been  much  larger.  Another  of  eleven  miles  appears  in  C.  xxx.  26.  The 
Rossetti  school  of  interpreters  make  much  of  the  fact  that  the  former  was 
said  to  be  the  circuit  of  the  territory  {Faz.  ii.  31),  the  latter  of  the  walls,  of 
Rome. 

1*  The  description,  looking  to  the  fact  of  its  being  full  moon  (C.  xx.  127), 
indicates  circ.  i  p.m.  The  journey  had  been  begun  the  previous  evening, 
and  was  to  be  completed  within  twenty-four  hours,  so  that  there  remained 
only  about  five  hours  (C.  xxxiv.  68). 

i8q 


HELL  CANTO  XXIX 

For  at  the  bridge's  foot  I  saw  him  well,  * 

Pointing  at  thee  with  finger  threatening. 
And  heard  his  name  pronounced  Gcri  del  Bell'. 

Then,  so  absorbed  in  seeking  to  descry 
His  fate  who  Altaforte  once  possessed, 
Thou  saw'st  him  not;  so  he  away  did  fly."  ** 

"  O  Leader  mine,"  so  him  I  then  addressed, 

"  That  bloody  death,  which  hath  no  vengeance  found 
From  any  by  the  self-same  wrong  oppressed. 

Made  him  thus  wrathful :  hence  he  turned  him 
round, 
So  deem  I,  and  would  speak  no  word  to  me,  " 

And  this  hath  made  my  pity  more  abound." 

So  spake  we,  far  as  the  first  place  whence  we 
Could  from  the  crag  look  o'er  the  other  vale, 
And,  had  we  more  light,  to  its  bottom  see. 

When  we  had  gained  the  farthest  cloister's  pale  ** 

Of  Malebolge,  and  its  brotherhood 
Before  our  gaze  their  aspect  could  unveil. 

Laments  pierced  through  mine  ears  of  divers  mood, 
Like  arrows  with  their  sharp  points  tipt  with  woe  ; 
So  with  my  hands  upon  mine  ears  I  stood.  *^ 

What  pain  would  be  if  to  one  pit  did  flow 
The  ills  that  in  Valdicchian's  spitals  be. 
As  July  and  September  come  and  go. 

Or  what  Maremma  and  Sardinia  see. 

So  was  it  there ;  such  stench  rose  evermore  '^ 

As  comes  from  limbs  that  rot  in  misery. 

25  Geri  del  Bello  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Alighieri,  and  was  first 
cousin  to  the  poet's  father  (Litta.  Art.  AH^hieri).  He  was  in  ill  reoute,  as 
hiving  stirred  up  strife  among  the  family  of  the  Gemini  (?)  or  the  Sacchetti  (?). 
Finally,  those  whom  he  had  sought  to  divide  united  against  him  and  put 
him  to  death.  The  menacing  gesture  is  explained  in  1.  32,  which  is,  in  fact, 
Dante's  apoloiia  for  not  having  taken  up  what  would  by  others  have  been 
thought  a  sufficient  cause  for  an  hereditary  vendetta. 

■•1  The  last  Bolgia  is  that  of  the  forgers,  coiners,  and  the  like. 

*7  The  Valdicchiana  lies  between  Arezzo,  Cortona,  Chiusi,  and  Montepul- 
ciano.  The  Chiana,  which  flowed  through  it,  made  it  marshy  and  malarious. 
For  the  Maremma,  see  C.  xxv.  19 ;  Purg.  v.  134.  Sardinia  has  at  all  times 
190 


HELL  CANTO  XXIX 

We  wound  our  way  adown  the  farther  shore 
From  the  long  crag,  but  on  the  left  hand  still. 
And  now  with  clearer  vision  looked  I  o'er, 

Towards  the  pit  where  she  who  works  the  will  ^ 

Of  our  high  Lord,  unerring  Righteousness, 
Doth  scourge  the  forgers  who  her  record  fill. 

I  cannot  think  that  that  was  worse  distress 
Which  touched  the  sick  of  all  ^gina's  race. 
When  all  the  air  was  filled  with  noisomeness,  ^ 

So  that  all  living  creatures  died  apace. 

E'en  to  the  worm,  and  then  each  ancient  clan 
(So  do  the  poets  the  old  story  trace) 

From  seed  of  ants  a  new-born  brood  began. 

Than  what  we  here  beheld,  in  that  dim  vale,  ^ 

Where  souls  in  diverse  heaps,  lie  pale  and  wan. 

This  on  the  belly,  that  on  back  did  trail, 
Each  of  the  other;  some  on  all-fours  crept, 
And  made  their  way  along  the  gloomy  dale. 

Speechless  and  pacing  slow  we  onwards  stept,  ^° 

Gazing,  and  listening  to  that  suffering  crew. 
Who  power  to  raise  their  forms  no  longer  kept; 

There  leaning  on  each  other  I  saw  two. 

As  plate  on  plate  doth  lean  when  set  to  heat, 

O'er  whom  from  head  to  foot  a  foul  scab  grew,        ^" 

And  never  saw  I  currycomb  so  fleet 

Of  stable-boy  whose  master  for  him  stays, 
Or  one  who  fain  would  to  his  bed  retreat. 

As  each  of  them  his  nails'  sharp  bite  always 

Passed  o'er  his  limbs  for  that  exceeding  sore  ^ 

Of  leprous  itch  that  nothing  else  allays  ; 

stood  low  in  the  health  scale.  The  hot  summer  months  were  of  course,  then, 
as  now,  the  most  fatal  period  in  such  regions.  Had  Dante,  as  a  student  of 
medicine,  visited  the  hospitals  ?    See  C.  xxx.  53. 

59  The  description  is  drawn  from  Ovid  {Met.  vii.  523-660).  Juno  sends  a 
pestilence  on  jEgina,  and  the  king,  yEacus,  is  the  only  survivor.  He  prays 
to  Zeus  to  fill  his  lands  again  with  inhabitants  as  numerous  as  those  of  an 
anthill  at  his  feet,  and  the  ants  are  changed  into  men,  who  thence  take  the 
name  of  Myrmidons  (Greek  »ryrw/«^  =  ant). 
191 


HELL  CANTO  XXIX 

And  so  their  nails  that  scab  rubbed  evermore. 
As  doth  the  knife  the  scales  of  scarda  scrape, 
Or  other  fish,  with  largest  covered  o'er. 

"O  thou  who  with  thy  fingers  peel'st  thy  shape,"        ^ 
Began  to  one  of  them  my  Leader  true, 
"And,  as  with  pincers,  mak'st  thy  flesh  to  gape, 

Tell  me  if  any  Latin  with  this  crew 

His  dwelling  hath  ?  so  may  thy  nails  suffice 
Through  endless  time  their  taskwork  to  renew  !  "    *° 

"  Latins  are  we,  whom,  worn  with  agonies. 

Thou  see'st  thus  tortured,"  weeping  answered  one  ; 
"  But  who  art  thou  who  ask'st  for  our  replies  ?  " 

Then  spake  my  Guide  :  "  My  course  doth  onward  run 
With  this  man,  yet  alive,  down  steep  rocks  sheer  ;  ^ 
Not  till  I've  shown  him  Hell  is  my  task  done." 

Then  did  they  cease  this  one  on  that  to  bear. 
And  each  one,  all  a-tremble,  turned  to  me. 
With  others  who  the  echoing  sound  did  hear. 

Then  my  good  Master  turned  my  face  to  see,  ^"^ 

And  said,  "  Tell  them  what  thou  dost  care  to  say." 
And  I  began,  since  he  so  bade  it  be  : 

"  So  may  your  memory  never  steal  away 

From  human  minds  in  that  first  world  up  there, 
But  still  in  life  through  many  a  long  year  stay  !       '"^ 

Say  who  ye  are,  and  whence  your  race  and  where  ; 
Let  not  your  foul  and  miserable  plight 
Make  you  afraid  before  me  to  appear." 

*'  I  of  Arezzo  am  :  Siena's  knight, 

Alberto,"  said  one,  "sent  me  to  the  stake  ;  "° 

What  brought  me  here  is  other  matter  quite. 

83  The  scarda  is  a  fresh-water  fish,  identified  as  the  Cyprinus  latus,  con- 
spicuous for  its  big  scales,  probably  a  carp. 

109  The  Aretine  is  identified  as  a  Maestro  GrifTolino,  a  charlatan  of  the 
Cagliostro  type.  He  came  to  Siena  and  promised  Albert  or  Albero,  the 
natural  or  adopted  son  of  the  Bishop  of  that  city,  that  he  would  teach 
him  to  fly,  and  so  help  him  in  his  love  adventures.  When  he  failed  to 
keep  his  promise,  Albert  complained  to  the  Bishop,  who  accused  Griffolino 
of  being  involved  in  the  heresy  of  the  Patarini  (one  of  the  wild  half-Gnostic, 
192 


HELL  CANTO  XXIX 

'Tis  true  to  him,  in  mirthful  jest  I  spake, 
I  knew  the  secret  through  the  air  to  fly. 
And  he,  o'er-curious,  senses  scarce  awake. 

Wished  me  to  show  the  art  ;  and  when  that  I  *"• 

No  Daedalus  made  him,  he  made  me  burn 
By  one  who  did  as  with  a  son  comply; 

But  to  this  Bolgia  in  its  tenth  last  turn 
Minos  condemned  me,  he  who  cannot  err, 
For  all  that  I  as  alchemy  did  learn."  ^^ 

Then  said  I  to  the  poet,  "  Was  there  e'er 
Like  to  Siena's,  race  so  vain  and  weak  ? 
E'en  from  the  French  the  palm  they  surely  bear." 

And  when  the  other  leper  heard  me  speak 

He  answered,  "  Well,  save  Stricca  ;  he  is  one  "® 

Whose  moderate  living  ne'er  its  bounds  did  break, 

And  Niccol',  who  the  inventor's  honours  won, 
For  his  new  skill  in  clove's  luxurious  use, 
In  that  wide  garden  where  such  seed  is  grown  ; 

Save,  too,  the  band  on  whom,  with  hand  profuse,       '** 
Caccia  d'Ascian  squandered  wood  and  vine. 
And  he,  the  dazed  one,  lavished  e'en  his  Muse. 

half-communistic  sects  of  the  13th  century)  and  had  him  burnt.  His  place 
in  the  tenth  Bolgia,  however,  was  not  due  to  that  sin,  but  to  the  deeper 
guilt  of  alchemy,  in  which  Dante  saw  an  attempt  to  violate  the  laws  of  God 
for  the  sake  of  man's  greed  (Scar/.). 

123  We  note  the  dexterity  with  which  the  poet  combines  his  two  antipathies. 
His  dislike  of  the  French  may  have  started  either  from  his  residence  at  Paris, 
probably  between  1284  and  iz88  (IVeg^.  p.  96),  or  his  contact  with  Charles  of 
Valois  and  his  followers. 

I'-S  The  exceptions  are,  of  course,  as  in  C.  xxi.  41,  emphatically  ironical. 
Little  is  known  individually  of  those  who  are  here  named.  What  had  dis- 
gusted Dante  was  the  sumptuous  luxury  of  the  Sienese  nobles,  of  whom  the 
Salimbeni  and  the  Bonsignori  were  the  most  conspicuous.  The  new  use  of 
the  clove  (the  tradition,  unless  it  is  an  invention  of  the  commentators,  was 
that  he  had  sown  the  clove  in  contact  with  other  seeds,  and  that  the  plants 
had  thereby  gained  a  more  delicate  flavour)  seems  to  have  stirred  the  scorn 
of  a  man  who  was  habitually  abstemious.  Probably  the  "  garden  "  stands 
for  Siena  itself,  which  was  fertile  in  such  refinements  of  luxury. 

130  The  "  band  "  (brigata)  was  a  Sienese  club,  the  members  of  which  built 
a  splendid  palace,  where  they  fared  sumptuously  every  day,  and  exercised 
a  stately  hospitality  towards  illustrious  visitors.  Unhappily  their  finances 
were  exhausted  in  ten  months,  and  the  club  collapsed,  not  without  epigrams 
as  epitaphs.  Caccia  of  Ascian,  of  the  house  of  Scialenghi,  was  one  of  the 
193  N 


HELL  CANTO  XXX 

But  that  thou  know  who  doth  with  thee  combine 
Against  the  Sienese,  thy  glance  turn  here. 
So  that  my  face  may  answer  well  to  thine  ;  ** 

Then  as  Capocchio's  shade  shall  I  appear, 
Who  wrought  false  metals  by  my  alchemy. 
Thou  must  remember,  if  I  see  thee  clear, 

How  I  aped  nature  all  too  skilfully." 


CANTO  XXX 

"The  Tenth  Bolg'ta — The  Workers  of  Lies — j^dam  of  Brescia — 
Sinon  of  Tr<y 

When  Juno  was  enraged,  in  time  of  old, 
With  those  of  Thebes  because  of  Semele, 
As  she  had  shown  in  fashion  manifold, 

So  far  strayed  Athamas  from  sanity. 

That  as  he  saw  his  wife,  with  children  twain  * 

On  either  hand  encumbered,  thus  cried  he  : 

"  Come,  let  us  spread  our  nets,  that  we  may  gain 
As  prey  the  lion-whelps  and  lioness." 
Then  seizing  one,  Learchus,  might  and  main, 

members  of  the  club.  The  "dazed  one  "  (Dante  seems  to  take  the  proper 
name,  Abbagliato,  as  descriptive)  is  said  by  some  to  have  belonged  to  the 
house  of  Folcacchieri,  probably  because  that  name  was  common  in  it ;  others, 
hovkfever,  identify  him  with  Folgore  di  S.  Gemignano,  the  poet  of  the  club, 
who  wrote  verses  in  honour  of  Niccolo  as  its  founder.  He  was  not  wealthy, 
and  was  admitted  only  as  an  amusing  man  of  letters,  a  "good  diner-out." 
Hence  the  puint  of  the  contrast  between  him  and  the  others.  They  wasted 
their  money  ;  he  his  wits  (Scart.). 

138  Xhe  archives  of  Siena  record  the  execution  of  Capocchio  in  1293.  The 
Anon.  Fior.  reports  that  he  excelled  in  every  kind  of  imitation,  both  of 
pers'ins  and  things,  and  finally  took  to  alchemy.  Line  138  implies  that 
Dante  had  known  him  in  the  flesh,  perhaps  had  for  a  time  joined  in  his 
experiments. 

1  See  Ovia,  Met.  iii.  253-31S1  iv.  416-562.  The  story  runs  thus  :  Semele, 
the  daughter  of  Cadmus,  was  beloved  by  Jupiter,  and  Juno  swore  vengeance 
against  her  and  her  house,  persuaded  her  to  ask  Jupiter  to  appear  to  her  in 
his  glory,  so  that  she  perished  in  her  fear  and  wonder,  and  sent  calamities  on 
the  other  children  of  Cadmus.  At  her  bidding  the  Erinnyes  brought  madness 
on  Athamas,  king  of  Thebes,  so  that  he  took  bis  wife  Ino  for  a  lioness,  and 
194 


HELL  CANTO  XXX 

He  grasped  him  in  his  clutches  pitiless,  '" 

And  whirled  and  dashed  him  down  upon  a  stone. 
And  she  the  other  drowned  in  her  distress, 

Herself  too  with  him  ;  and  when,  all  o'erthrown. 
Was  seen  the  pride  of  Trojans  bold  to  dare,  y 

So  that  the  kingdom  with  its  king  was  gone,  " 

Then  Hecuba,  a  captive,  worn  with  care. 
When  she  her  own  Polyxena  saw  dead. 
And  with  the  corpse  of  Polydorus  there 

On  ocean's  shore  she  met,  and  reason  fled. 

Wailing  and  sad,  like  dog  she  barked  and  bayed,      ^ 
So  far  her  mind  by  woe  astray  was  led. 

But  not  at  Thebes  or  Troy  the  Furies  made 
Assault  so  fierce  on  any  mortal  wight. 
Nor  beasts — and  much  less  men — so  sorely  frayed. 

As  I  saw  two  pale  shades  in  naked  plight,  "^ 

Who  biting  did  their  onward  course  pursue, 
As  doth  the  boar  who  from  the  stye  takes  flight. 

One  seized  Capocchio,  and  his  teeth  thrust  through 
His  neck  i'  the  nape,  and  dragged  him  down  away. 
And  on  the  rocky  ground  his  belly  drew  ;  ^ 

And  the  Aretine,  who  trembling  still  did  stay. 

Said,  "  Lo  !   Gian  Schicchi  is  that  madman  there, 
And  frenzied  thus  makes  other  souls  his  prey." 

his  sons  for  her  whelps,  and  then  (Met.  iv.  512-520)  comes  the  passage  which 
Dante  paraphrases. 

16  Another  reminiscence  of  Ovid  (A/et.  xiii.  399-575),  who  paints  the 
madness  of  Hecuba,  the  wife  of  Priam,  wandering  among  the  graves  of  her 
children  after  the  fall  of  Troy,  maddem-d  with  her  many  sorrows,  herself  a 
prisoner,  her  daughter  Polyxena  sacrificed  at  the  tomb  of  Achilles  (Afef. 
xiii.  441-480),  and  Polydorus  treacherously  slain  in  Thrace,  by  his  guardian 
Polymnestor  (Mei.  xiii.  527-569  ;  yEn.  iii.  49-68). 

^  The  two  forms  that  have  brought  these  pictures  of  madness  to  his  memory 
are  Gianni  Schicchi  (1.  32)  and  Myrrha  (1.  37),  the  guilt  of  personation  being 
common  to  them  both. 

31  The  Aretine  is  the  Griffolino  of  C.  xxix.  109. 

32  Gianni  Schicchi  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Cavalcanti.  The  story, 
as  told  by  the  Anon.Fior.,  was  that  Buoso  Donati  (C.  xxv.  i4o)ciied  without 
making  a  will ;  that  his  son  or  grandson,  Simon,  knowing  Schicchi's  power  of 
personation,  called  him  into  his  counsels,  and  that  the  latter,  placed  in  the 
dead  man's  bed,  dictated  a  will  with  many  legacies  to  himself,  leaving  Simon 


HELL  CANTO  XXX 

Then  said  I,  "  So  may  not  that  other  tear 

Thee  with  his  teeth,  grudge  not,  I  thee  entreat,      ^ 
To  say  who  'tis  before  it  disappear." 

And  he  :  "  The  ancient  spirit  thou  dost  meet 
Of  that  accursed  Myrrha,  who  became 
Enamoured  of  her  sire  in  ways  unmeet ; 

She  to  the  deed  of  evil  with  him  came  ^^ 

In  likeness  of  another's  form  disguised, 
E'en  as  that  other  yonder  played  his  game 

To  win  the  lady  of  the  stud  so  prized, 
Buoso  Donati's  form  assumed,  and  gave 
To  his  last  will  its  sanction  legalised."  *^ 

And  when  the  two  had  passed  who  thus  did  rave. 
On  whom  I  fixed  mine  eye  with  gaze  intent. 
To  other  ill-starred  souls  my  glance  did  wave  ; 

I  looked  on  one  in  form  lute-fashion  bent. 

Had  he  but  had  his  carcase  lopped  off  there  ^ 

Wh&nce    from    the    groin    the    forked    limbs    are 
sent  ; 

The  dropsy,  that  so  gives  unequal  share 
Of  ill -attempered  moisture  to  each  part. 
That  face  and  belly  ill  assorted  are. 

Constrained  him  so  to  keep  his  lips  apart,  ^ 

As  doth  the  fevered  man  who,  thirst-oppressed, 
One  towards  the  chin,  and  one  above  doth  part. 

"  O  ye  who  tread  this  world  of  ours  unblest. 
Though  why  I  know  not,  free  from  penalty," 
Said  he  to  us,  "  give  heed  to  my  request,  ^ 


as  residuary  legatee,  to  a  notary  who  was  summoned  for  the  purpose  before 
the  death  was  known. 

38  The  story  of  Myrrha,  the  daughter  of  Cinyras,  king  of  Cypjrus,  which 
was  after  the  pattern  of  that  of  Lot's  daughters,  is  told  by  Ovid  (Met.  x. 
298-502).  Adonis,  the  beloved  of  Venus,  was  the  offspring  of  the  incestuous 
union.  In  his  epistle  to  Henry  VII.,  Dante  compares  Florence,  in  her 
throwing  herself  into  the  Pope's  arms,  to  the  incestuous  Myrrha. 

88  The  speaker  is  supposed  to  have  beard  the  words  spoken  by  Virgil  to 
Griffolino  (C.  xxix.  94). 

196 


HELL  CANTO  XXX 

And  look  on  Master  Adam's  misery. 
Alive  I  had  what  fully  met  my  will. 
And  now  alas  !   for  drop  of  water  sigh. 

The  little  streamlets  that  from  each  green  hill 

Of  Casentino  down  to  Arno  go,  " 

And  form  full  many  a  cool  and  pleasant  rill, 

These  not  in  vain  around  me  ever  flow, 
For  more  that  vision  sets  my  soul  athirst. 
Than  the  foul  ill  that  o'er  my  face  works  woe  ; 

Stern  justice,  that  repays  my  sin  accurst,  ^ 

The  very  place  in  which  I  sinned  employs 
To  make  me  into  sighs  more  frequent  burst. 

There  is  Romena,  where  with  base  alloys 

I  marred  the  coins  the  Baptist's  head  that  bear, 

For  which  I  bore  the  fire  that  flesh  destroys  ;  '^ 

But  could  I  only  see  the  sad  soul  here 
Of  Alessandro,  Guido,  or  their  kin. 
For  that  sight  Branda's  fount  I  well  might  spare. 

61  Master  Adam  of  Brescia  was  employed  by  the  Counts  Guido  of  Romena 
to  forge  Florentine  money  with  three  carats  of  alloy.  As  they  were  of  full 
weight,  the  coins  passed  into  general  currency,  but  when  the  fraud  was 
detected  the  criminal  was  seized  by  the  Florentines  and  burnt  alive  on  the 
road  from  Florence  to  Romena.  The  Alessandro  named  here  is  to  be 
distinguished  from  his  cousin  of  the  same  name,  who,  about  1305,  was  a  leader 
of  the  Ghibelline  exiles  {Faitr.  i.  p.  178  ;  Frat.  O.  M.  iii.  p.  418). 

63  An  obvious  reproduction  oi  Luke  xvi.  23,  24.  The  special  appropriate- 
ness here  is  that  one  of  the  chief  symptoms  of  dropsy  was,  as  Dante  s  medical 
studies  may  have  taught  him  (see  note  on  C.  xxix.  47),  an  intolerable  thirst, 
fit  penalty  for  the  insatiable  love  of  gain. 

65  The  two  main  streams  that  flow  into  the  Arno  from  the  Casentino  hills 
are  the  Sieve  and  the  Chiana,  and  these  in  their  turn  are  fed  by  innumerable 
rivulets.  Romena,  the  scene  of  Master  Adam's  guilt,  was  a  village  on  the 
slope  of  Casentino. 

7-'  The  coins  of  Florence  had  on  one  side  the  head  of  the  Baptist  as  the 
patron  saint  of  the  city,  and  on  the  other  a  lily  {fiore),  whence  the  name 
"florin." 

77  The  three  brothers  were  sons  of  Guido  I. ,  Count  of  Romena,  who  was 
a  cousin  of  the  Guido  Guerra  of  C.  xvi.  38. 

"8  Of  the  three  fountains  that  bear  the  name  of  Branda,  that  of  Siena,  as 
the  most  famous,  has  commonly  been  identified  with  that  of  which  the  coiner 
speaks.  It  seems  proved,  however,  that  there  was  a  spring  so  named  at 
Romena,  Master  Adam's  home  ;  and  if  so,  it  is  more  probable  that  Dante 
wot  Id  have  put  in  a  touch  of  local  colour,  like  the  previous  mention  of 
Casentino,  than  that  he  named  a  fountain  more  than  sixty  miles  distant.  See 
Forsyth's  Italy,  p.  116;  AmJ>.  p.  269;  Barl.  in  loc. 
197 


HELL  CANTO  XXX 

And  one  already  sufFers  there  within. 

If  the  fierce  shades  that  flit  around  speak  true  ;        ^ 
But  how  can  I  my  way  thus  limb-tied  win  ? 

But  were  I  once  so  lithe  of  limb  anew 
A  single  inch  in  fivescore  years  to  move, 
I  would  at  once  my  course  to  him  pursue. 

And  seek  him  where  these  dismal  wretches  rove,         ** 
Though  full  eleven  miles  they  circle  round, 
And  half  a  mile  the  road's  wide,  or  above. 

Through  them  among  this  evil  crew  I'm  bound ; 
They  tempted  me  to  coin  the  florins  bright, 
Wherein  three  carats  of  base  dross  were  found."        "° 

And  I :  "  Who  are  those  twain  in  woeful  plight. 
Who  smoke  like  wetted  hand  in  winter's  rime. 
And  lie  there  near  thee,  close  upon  thy  right  ?" 

"  When  I  first  fell,"  he  said,  "  to  this  drear  clime, 
I  found  them  here,  and  since  they  have  not  stirred,*^ 
Nor  do  I  think  they  will  through  endless  time. 

One  against  Joseph  spake  her  lying  word, 
The  other  Sinon,  that  false  Greek  of  Troy; 
From  their  sharp  fever  all  this  reek  is  poured." 

And  one  of  them,  as  if  in  sore  annoy,  ^°° 

Perhaps  at  mention  as  of  evil  fame. 
Did  on  his  belly's  hide  his  fist  employ, 

And  thence  a  sound,  as  from  a  tabret,  came  ; 
And  Master  Adam  smote  him  on  the  face 
With  arm  whose  strength  seemed  every  whit  the 

same,  *°^ 

And  said,  "  Though  all  my  power  to  move  one  pace 
These  my  swoln  limbs  a  very  nothing  make. 
My  arm  is  free  enough  for  such  a  case." 

86  Another  local  measurement,  as  inC.  xxix.  9  (where  see  note),  the  circum- 
ference of  the  tenth  Bolgia  being  half  that  of  the  ninth.  Eleven  miles  give 
the  circuit  of  the  Roman  walls  of  Aurelian. 

97  The  companionship  of  Potiphar's  wife  (Gen.  xxxix.  6-23)  and  Sinon,  the 
lying  instrument  of  the  plot  of  the  Trojan  horse  (/En.  ii.  57-194),  is  almost  a 
typical  instance  of  the  confluence  in  Dante's  mind  of  Biblical  and  classical 
memories. 

198 


HELL  CANTO  XXX 

He  answered:  "When  thou  stoodest  at  the  stake, 
Thou  hadst  it  not  so  nimble  then  to  view;  "° 

But  so,  and  more,  when  thou  to  coin  didst  take." 

Then  said  the  dropsied  one,  "Thou  speakest  true; 
But  thou  gav'st  no  such  truthful  evidence 
When  thou  at  Troy  wast  asked  the  truth  to  show." 

"  If  I  spake  false,  thou  didst  false  coin  dispense,"         "' 
Spake  Sinon;  "  I  stand  here  for  one  sole  deed. 
And  thine  are  more  than  any  fiend's  immense." 

"Remember,  O  thou  perjured  one,  that  steed," 
Spake  he  whose  paunch  so  monstrously  did  swell, 
"And  fret  that  all  the  world  that  tale  may  read."  '^ 

"  Fret  thou  for  tongue  parched,  thirst  unquenchable," 
Then  said  the  Greek,  "and  all  the  moisture  vile. 
Which  in  thy  pau'nch  before  thine  eyes  doth  dwell." 

And  then  the  coiner:  "Wide-oped  to  revile 

Is  still  thy  mouth,  as  'twas  its  wont  of  old;  ^^ 

For  if  I  thirst,  and  swoln  with  humours  toil, 

Thou  hast  the  burning  pain  thy  head  doth  hold. 
To  lap  Narcissus'  glass  thou  wouldst  not  need 
With  many  words  of  prompting  to  be  told." 

Absorbed  in  listening  to  them  I  gave  heed,  ^^ 

When  he,  my  Master,  said,  "  Nay,  do  but  gaze; 
A  little  more  and  I  were  wroth  indeed." 

And  when  I  heard  him  thus  in  anger  raise 

His  voice,  I  turned  to  him  with  shame  so  hot. 
That  even  now  it  thrills  my  mind  always;  ^'^ 

128  This  "glass,"  or  "mirror"  of  Narcissus,  is,  of  course,  as  in  the 
specuium  Diatue,  applied  to  Lake  Nemi,  a  periphrase  for  a  clear  crystallin* 
lake  or  pool. 

131  The  strange  dialogue  of  sarcasms  is  apparently  introduced,  partly, 
perhaps,  to  bring  out  dramatically  the  received  dogma  of  the  schoolmen  that 
the  sufferings  of  the  damned  were  aggravated  by  mutual  revilings  ;  partly 
also,  if  not  chiefly,  for  the  lesson  with  which  it  ends.  The  poet  had  known 
in  others,  perhaps  in  himself,  the  impulse  which  draws  men  to  listen  to  a 
quarrel  in  which  they  have  no  concern.  Foul  words,  hateful  passions,  have 
a  fascination,  such,  e.g.,  as  the  realistic  school  of  French  novels  or  the 
police  reports  of  a  great  crime  have  over  their  readers.  He  wishes,  as  from 
a  personal  experience,  to  protest  against  that  fascination.  The  higher  human 
culture  personified  in  Virgil  and  the  illumined  conscience  alike  forbid  it.  In 
199 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI 

And  e'en  as  one  who  dreams  of  evil  lot, 

And  in  his  dream  that  it  were  dream  doth  seek, 
So  that  what  is  he  craves  as  though  'twere  not. 

So  then  was  I,  and  lost  my  power  to  speak: 

I  sought  excuse,  and  my  excuse  I  found,  "" 

Yet  knew  it  not  in  that  confusion  weak. 

"  Less  shame  would  cleanse,  though  guilt  did  more 
abound," 
So  said  my  Master,  "  than  thy  fault  hath  been; 
Cast  then  thy  weight  of  sorrow  to  the  ground. 

Bethink  thee  well  that  I  am  near  thee  seen,  ^^ 

If  e'er  thy  fortune  thee  again  should  place 
Where  such  men  rail  in  quarrel  low  and  mean: 

To  wish  to  hear  that  marks  a  nature  base." 


CANTO  XXXI 

Tie  Giants  in  tie  Darkness — Ephialtes — Antaas — Journey  to 
the  Abyss 

The  self-same  tongue  whose  edge  first  made  me  feel 
Each  flushing  cheek  to  glow  with  crimson  o'er. 
Then  brought  its  ministering  balm  to  heal: 

So  have  I  heard  the  spear  Achilles  bore. 

His  father's  erst,  the  cause  was  wont  to  be  ^ 

Of  pain  at  first  and  then  of  bounty  more. 

We  turned  our  back  on  that  vale  sad  to  sec. 
Upon  the  bank  that  girds  it  all  around, 
And,  as  we  onward  went,  no  word  spake  we. 

the  confusion  of  shame^  as  in  a  nightmare  dream  of  evil,  he  turns  to  his 
Master,  and  the  shame  is  accepted  as  a  sufficient  token  of  contrition,  and  the 
history  ends  with  the  moral  condensed  into  a  maxim. 

S  Telephus,  son  of  Hercules  and  king  of  Mysia,  who  was  wounded  by  the 
spear  of  Achilles,  was  healed  by  a  plaster  made  of  the  rust  of  the  spear  (Ovid, 
Met.  xiii.  17).  Other  works  of  the  same  poet  allude  to  the  story  (Trist.  v. 
2;  Rem,  Am.  47). 

200 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI 

There  less  than  night  and  less  than  day  we  found,       ^^ 
So  that  my  forward  vision  had  short  course; 
But  soon  1  heard  a  trump  of  shrillest  sound, 

It  would  have  made  all  thunder-peals  seem  hoarse. 
Which,  as  it  tracked  its  pathway  back  again. 
Drew  my  eyes'  eager  gaze  to  seek  its  source:  "* 

After  that  dolorous  rout  when  Charlemagne 
His  hopes  of  high  emprise  dispersed  did  see, 
Not  half  so  dread  Orlando's  loud  refrain. 

Awhile  I  turned  my  head  there  wistfully. 

And  seemed  to  look  on  many  a  lofty  tower;  '"' 

Then  I:  "  Say,  Master,  what  this  land  may  be  ? " 

And  he  to  me:  "Because  thine  eye  doth  scour 
Through  the  thick  dark  at  distance  too  remote. 
It  chances  thou'rt  misled  by  fancy's  power. 

Should'st  thou  arrive  there,  thou  wilt  clearly  note        ^ 
How  much  thy  sense  by  distance  is  beguiled; 
Wherefore  ply  thou  the  spur  for  speed  more  hot." 

And  then  my  hands  he  clasped,  benignly  mild. 
And  said,  "  Before  our  steps  pass  onward  far. 
That  the  true  fact  may  seem  less  strangely  wild,       ^ 

Know  thou  those  forms  not  towers,  but  giants  are; 
And  in  the  pit,  around  the  bank  hard  by. 
From  navel  downwards  one  and  all  appear." 

As  when  the  morning  mist  doth  melt  and  fly. 

Little  by  little  doth  the  sight  discern  " 

What  the  dense  fog  doth  hide  from  keenest  eye. 

So  piercing  through  the  thick  air's  gloom  forlorn, 
And  winding  ever  nearer  to  the  shore, 
My  error  fled  and  terror  took  its  turn; 

9  The  silence  is  eminently  characteristic.  Common  talk  does  not  lightly 
follow  on  the  intercourse  between  penitent  and  confessor. 

12  The  trump  is  that  of  the  roar  of  Nimrod  in  his  rage. 

16  The  "  dolorous  rout "  is  that  of  Roncesvalles,  in  which  the  knights  of 

Charlemagne  were  defeated  by  the  Saracens,  as  in   the  Gesta  Francorum. 

The  paladins  were  slain,  but  Orlando,  the  Roland  oix\\^Jabliaux,  blew  a  blast 

on  his  trumpet  so  loud  and  shrill  that  it  reached  the  ears  of  Charlemagne, 

20I 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI 

For  even  as  by  ramparts,  circling  o'er  *° 

With  lofty  towers,  is  Montereggion  crowned. 
So  there  the  rim  which  round  the  dark  pit  bore 

Those  fearful  giants  did,  as  towers,  surround 
With  half  their  bodies:  these  Jove  threatens  yet 
From  his  high  heaven  when  his  thunders  sound.       *^ 

My  gaze  the  form  of  one  already  met, 

Shoulders  and  breasts  and  of  the  belly  part. 
And  both  his  arms  a-down  his  sides  were  set. 

Nature,  in  truth,  when  she  forsook  the  art 

Of  making  creatures  such  as  these,  did  well  ^ 

To  bid  such  ministers  from  Mars  depart; 

And  if  for  elephants  and  whales  that  dwell 

On  earth  she  grieves  not,  to  the  thoughtful  she 
Will  seem  to  act  with  juster,  subtler  spell; 

For  where  the  mind's  clear  faculty  to  see  ^ 

With  evil  will  and  vigour  doth  combine, 
No  bulwark  can  from  them  a  people  free. 

His  face  as  long  and  vast  as  is  the  pine 

That  bears  at  Rome  St.  Peter's  name,  appeared; 
And  other  limbs  were  framed  in  fit  design,  ^ 

and  brought  him,  though  not  to  the  rescue,  yet  to  the  work  of  vengeance 
(Turpin,  Cron.  c.  24,  in  Scart.). 

41  Montereggion,  a  strong  castle  built  on  a  conical  hill  six  miles  from  Siena 
in  1213,  and  protected  by  twelve  to«ers  on  its  walls.  Such,  seen  through  the 
dim  gloom  oi  mist  or  twilight,  had  appeared  the  forms  of  the  giants. 

**  Another  reminiscence  of  the  rout  of  Phlegra,  as  in  C.  xiv.  58.  Every 
thunder-roll  the  giants  hear  in  Hell  reminds  them  of  that  fa|al  day. 

49  The  Biblical  history  of  the  giants  of  Gen.  vi.  4  is  not  noticed  by  Dante. 
He  CO  Ines  himself  entirely  to  those  of  classical  mythology,  in  which  they 
appeared  as  the  Titans,  sons  of  the  Earth-Goddess,  perhaps  with  a  reminis- 
cence of  the  "  JVec  de  te  Natura,  gueror,"  of  Lucan,  ix.  855. 

51  The  poet's  mind  seems  to  have  dwelt  on  the  dread  possibilities  of  war 
had  such  monsters  continued  to  exist.  Elephants  and  whales  are  big  enrugh, 
but  are  not  destructive,  and  therefore  Nature  continues  to  produce  them 
without  repenting  of  her  work. 

55  In  the  evil  strength  of  the  giants  Dante  sees  the  type  of  a  yet  greater 
evil.  What  nation  could  hold  out  against  the  combination  of  intellect  and 
power  in  which  there  was  no  fear  of  God  ? 

59  The  history  of  the  pine  is  curious  enough.  It  is  first  known  to  have 
found  a  place  in  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian  i.e.,  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo). 
In  498  it  was  placed  by  Pope  Symmachus  on  the  top  of  a  metal  structure 
202 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI 

So  that  the  bank  which  did  as  apron  gird 

His  middle  downwards,  showed  so  much  above, 
That  to  reach  up  to  either  hair  or  beard, 

Three  Frisians  would  their  vauntings  idle  prove. 

For  measured  down  I  saw  full  thirty  palm  ^ 

From  where  a  man  to  clasp  his  cloak  doth  love. 

'■'^Raphel,  mat  amech  izabi  d  aim" 

The  haughty  mouth  began  aloud  to  cry. 
To  which  unmeet  were  any  sweeter  psalm. 

"  O  witless  spirit,  still  thy  trumpet  ply,"  ^° 

Then  said  my  guide,  "  and  show  thy  mind,  with  that, 
When  wrath  or  other  passion  thee  doth  try; 

Search  round  thy  neck,  and  thou  the  band  shalt  find 
Which  keeps  it  fast,  O  blind  soul  and  confused. 
And  see  where  it  thy  mighty  breast  doth  bind."       ^* 

Then  said  he,  "  By  himself  is  he  accused  : 
Nimrod  is  this,  through  whose  intent  of  ill 
One  language  in  the  world  no  more  is  used. 

Let  us  leave  him,  nor  speak  all  vainly  still, 

For  every  language  to  him,  as  his  own  * 

To  others,  is  incomprehensible." 

which  he  had  erected  over  a  fountain  placed  in  the  atrium  of  the  Vatican  by 
his  predecessor  Damasus  (366).  When  the  present  St.  Peter's  was  buih,  the 
bronze  pine  was  removed  to  the  Belvedere  Garden.  Its  actual  height  is 
6i  feet,  and  this  would  give  about  54  feet  for  the  height  of  the  giants. 

**  Dante  may  have  seen  Frieslanders  either  in  the  travels  which  took  him 
to  Cologne  and  Bruges  or  among  the  German  troops  of  the  Empire. 

S"  One  notes,  as  before,  the  numerical  preciseness.  Thirty  palms  (there 
were,  however,  four  kinds  of  palms  in  Italy)  would  give  about  15  feet  from 
the  neck  to  the  middle  of  the  body. 

67  It  .seems  idle  to  seek  for  a  meaning  in  what  is  intended  to  represent  the 
confusion  of  Babel.  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  Arabic,  have,  however,  been  "forced 
to  bend,"  and  volumes  have  been  written  by  linguists  with  a  zeal  not  according 
to  knowledge.  I  refer  readers  to  the  elaborate  excursus  in  Scart.,  and 
content  myself  wiih  giving  the  three  that  comes  nearest  to  an  intelligible 
meaning,  (i)  Flugel.  "A  pit  has  received  my  glorj'.  See  here  my 
world."  (2)  Venturi.  "  By  God,  why  are  they  in  this  pit  ?  Hide  thyself.  ' 
(3)  Anon.  "  Let  be,  O  God  ;  why  scatter  my  hosts  in  my  own  world  ? " 
it  may  be  noted,  however,  that  Manuel,  the  great  Oriental  scholar  of  the 
14th  century,  was  a  friend  of  Dante's  (^Scart.),  and  that  the  scattered  frag- 
ments of  Semitic  knowledge,  and  some  faint  echoes  of  Hebrew  speech  like 
this  and  Par.  vii.  1-3,  in  the  Comm.  may  have  been  derive'd  from  hijn 
Corap.  Witt.  D.  F.  ii.  41. 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI 

Then  we  in  farther  journey  travelled  on, 

Turned  to  the  left,  and,  bowshot's  space  within, 
Another  found,  more  fierce  and  overgrown. 

Who  to  bind  him  such  skill  of  art  could  win  ** 

I  know  not,  but  his  right  arm  bound  behind 
He  held,  the  other  arm  in  front  was  seen; 

The  chains,  which  downward  hung,  his  limbs  confined, 
So  from  the  neck  down  all  the  part  exposed 
That  five  full  spirals  round  him  were  entwined.       ^ 

**  This  haughty  one  to  try  his  strength  proposed," 
Then  said  my  guide,  "  against  almighty  Jove, 
And  for  requital  he's  in  bonds  enclosed; 

His  name  is  Ephialtes;  he  did  prove 

His  might,  when  giants  caused  the  gods  to  fear;       ^ 
The  arms  then  raised  he  never  more  may  move." 

Then  I  to  him:  "If  possible  it  were, 
I  fain  would  wish  Briareus,  vast  in  size, 
Before  mine  eyes  might  stand  in  vision  clear," 

He  answered  :  "  Lo  !  Antaeus  meets  thine  eyes  ^°° 

Hard  by,  for  he  can  speak  and  is  set  free, 
To  bear  us  where  the  abyss  of  evil  lies  ; 

Much  farther  on  is  he  thou  fain  would'st  see. 
And  he  in  manner  like  to  this  is  bound. 
Save  that  his  looks  show  more  ferocity."  ^^ 

85  We  are  reminded  of  C.  xv.  12.  What  ministering  workers  had  been 
employed  by  the  Supreme  Will? 

92  "Almighty  (summo)  Jove"  seems  here  to  fall  in  with  the  classical 
mythology  of  the  scene;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  Purg.  vi.  118 
Dante  applies  the  same  epithet  to  the  Crucified  One.  Possibly  his  know- 
ledge of  the  Hebrew  name,  which  we  commonly  write  "  Jehovah,  '  may  have 
facilitated  the  transfer. 

94  Ephialtes,  son  of  Neptune,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolt  of  the  giants 
against  Jupiter  when  they  heaped  Pelion  upon  Ossa.  See  Horn.  //.  v.  385, 
Od.  xi.  304  ;  Hor.  Od.  iii.  2,  54  ;  Lucan,  iv.  590-605. 

98  Comp.  the  description  of  Briareus  of  the  hundred  arms,  son  of  Uranus 
and  Terra,  in  Mn.  v.  564-567,  and  Stat.  Theb.  ii.  595,  596. 

100  Antseus,  son  of  Neptune  and  Terra,  a  giant  with  sixty  arms,  slain  by 
Hercules  (/4;»o//(7«/.  ii.  5,  11).  He,  born  after  the  revolt,  had  not  been  one 
of  the  rebels  against  Jupiter  (1.  120). 

103  Lucan's  Briareus  ferox  (iv.  556)  was  probably  in  Dante's  mind. 
204 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI 

Never  was  earthquake  so  tempestuous  found 
A  tower  with  such  great  violence  to  shake, 
As  Ephialtes  shook  himself;  more  ground 

Had  I  than  ever,  fearing  death,  to  quake  ; 

And  nothing  more  was  needed  than  this  dread,       "° 
Had  I  not  seen  how  bonds  his  strength  did  break. 

Then  onward  farther  were  our  footsteps  led, 
And  to  Antaeus  came,  who  full  five  ell 
Rose  from  the  pit,  not  counting  in  his  head. 

"  O  thou,  who  in  the  fateful  vale  didst  dwell  "^ 

Which  made  of  Scipio  heir  of  glorious  fame, 
When  Hannibal's  great  host  before  him  fell. 

And  thousand  lions  as  thy  spoil  didst  claim. 

And  who,  hadst  thou  been  in  the  war  of  might 
With  those  thy  kin,  some  deem  that  through  the 

same  '* 

Earth's  sons  had  had  the  power  to  win  the  fight ; 
Take  thou  us  down,  nor  grieve  that  task  to  ply. 
Where,  o'er  Cocytus,  cold  asserts  her  right. 

To  Tityus,  Typho  bid  us  not  to  fly  ; 

This    man    can    give    what    here    your    longings 

seek  ;  '-^ 

Stoop  down,  nor  curl  thy  lip  so  haughtily. 

He  in  the  world  can  yet  thy  glory  speak. 

For  he  still  lives,  and  hopes  for  length  of  days. 
Unless  God's  grace  his  life  shall  sooner  take." 

lis  The  "  ell,"  like  the  "  palm  "  of  1.  65,  was  a  varying  measure.  Probably 
here  we  have  that  of  Flanders,  which  was  about  four  and  a  half  feet.  This 
would  make  Antseus  about  the  same  height  as  Nimrod. 

116  A  reminiscence  of  Lucan  (iv.  590-605),  who  describes  the  cave  of 
Antaeus  as  at  Bagrada  near  Zama,  which  was  the  scene  of  Scipio's  victory 
over  Hannibal,  and  speaks  of  his  banqueting  on  lions. 

!■•**  More  classical  reminiscences.  For  Tityus  see  y^n.  vi.  594  ;  Ovid, 
Met.  iv.  457  :  Lucan,  1.  c.  For  Typhseus,  smitten  with  the  thunderbolt  of 
Jupiter  and  buried  in  Sicily  {Par.  viii.  70 ;  Ovid,  Met.  v.  348),  near  Pelorus. 

1'-*  Even  the  giauts  are  represented  as  still  caring  for  fame.  Dante,  con- 
scious of  his  own  power,  promises,  through  Virgil,  that  he  will  make  the 
name  of  Antaeus  more  widely  known  than  Ovid  or  Lucan  had  done.  Comp. 
C.  vi.  89,  xiii.  76,  XV.  119.  In  C.  xxxii.  94  we  shall  find  those  in  whom  the 
desire  is  quenched  and  who  would  fain  be  forgotten. 


HELL  CANTO  XXXII 

So  spake  the  Master.     Nor  made  he  delays,  '^ 

But  with  the  hand  he  did  my  Leader  grasp 
That  once  filled  Hercules  with  sore  amaze. 

And  Virgil,  when  he  felt  the  giant's  clasp. 

Said  to  me,  "  Come  thou  near,  that  I  take  thee," 
And  then  himself  and  m-e  in  one  did  hasp.  ^^ 

And  as  to  eyes  that  Carisenda  see. 

Beneath  its  sloping  tower,  when  comes  a  cloud. 
It  seems  to  bend  with  motion  contrary. 

So  did  Antaeus  seem  to  me,  who,  bowed 

In  eager  gaze,  did  look  to  see  him  bend,  '*" 

And  half  to  go  by  other  way  had  vowed. 

But  in  the  pit  full  swift  our  course  did  end 
Which  Lucifer  with  Judas  doth  devour  ; 
Nor  paused  he,  thus  bowed  down,  to  reascend, 

But  rose,  as  mast  in  gallant  ship  doth  tower.  ^^ 


CANTO  XXXII 

The  Tenth  Circle— The  Lake  of  let — Cai'na — Traitors  to  their 
Kin — Antenora — Trait  on  to  their  Country 

If  I  had  rhymes  as  out  of  tune  and  harsh 
As  would  be  fitting  for  that  drear  abyss. 
Which,  as  their  centre,  th'  other  rocks  o'erarch. 

To  press  thought's  grape-juice  I  were  not  remiss 

More  fully.     Since  by  me  they're  not  possessed,       ^ 
Not  without  fear  I  come  to  speak  of  this. 

136  The  Carisenda,  or  Garisenda  (so  called  from  the  name  of  its  builders)  is 
the  leaning  tower  of  Bologna.  As  it  was  partly  destroyed  by  Giovanni 
Visconti  in  1355  (hence  its  later  name  of  Torre  mozza),  it  was  probably  much 
higher  when  Dante  used  to  stand  and  watch  the  motion  of  the  clouds  as  they 
passed  over  it. 

i'»5  The  simile  is  reproduced  by  Milton  (P.  L.  i.  293). 

2  The  last,  the  frozen  deep  of  Hell,  is  divided  into  four  concentric  circles — 

Caina,  for  the  traitors  against  their  kindred  (1.   16-72)  ;  Antenora,  for  those 

against  their  country  (1.  73);  Ptolomajaj  for  those  ag:iinst  their  friends  (C. 

xxxiii.  91-157);  Giudecca,  for  those  against  their  benefactors.   The  hardness 

206 


HELL  CANTO  XXXII 

No  theme  it  is  for  one  to  touch  in  jest, 

To  paint  the  abyss  of  all  the  universe. 

Nor  speech  that  "Mamma,"  "Babbo"  shall  suggest; 
But  may  those  Ladies  now  assist  my  verse,  ^° 

Who  helped,  of  yore,  Amphion  Thebes  to  rear, 

That  speech  and  fact  may  not  be  too  diverse ! 

0  race  above  all  others  cursed  there. 
Dwelling  in  clime  whereof  'tis  hard  to  tell, 

Better  on  earth  ye  sheep  or  wild-goats  were  !  ^* 

When  we  had  reached  the  deep  and  darksome  well. 
Beneath  the  giant's  feet,  but  far  more  low. 
While  still  my  gaze  upon  the  high  wall  fell, 

1  heard  a  voice,  "Take  heed  how  thou  dost  go  ! 

Look  to  it,  lest  beneath  thy  feet  thou  tread  ^ 

The  heads  of  brothers  worn  and  spent  with  woe." 

Turned  I  thereon,  and  saw  before  me  spread. 
And  at  my  feet,  a  lake  exceeding  cold. 
And  glass,  not  water,  seemed  there  in  its  bed. 

Never  did  veil  so  thick  the  course  enfold  ^ 

In  winter-time  of  Austrian  Donau's  track. 
Nor  doth  so  chilly  clime  the  Tanais  hold 

and  coldness  which  is  the  ultimate  doom  of  this,  the  most  malignant  form  of 
evil,  is  gradually  intensified  as  the  traitors  sink  lower  into  the  ice. 

8  As  the  earth  was,  in  the  Ptolemaic  system,  the  centre  round  which  all 
Other  spheres  revolved,  its  centre  was  that  of  the  whole  universe. 

9  The  two  words  (Ba66o  =  'PsLpa.)  occur  in  F.  £.  ii.  7,  as  belonging  to  the 
style  which  is  below  the  dignity  of  poetry.  Here,  perhaps,  it  is  used  for  the 
Italian,  in  which  Dante  wrote,  and  which  he  describes  in  his  Ep.  to  Can 
Grande  as  "  humilis  et  remissus,"  the  common  speech  of  "  mu/iercu/cE." 
He  would  want,  he  seems  to  say,  with  a  real  or  affected  modesty,  some  other 
language,  the  Latin,  e.g:.,  of  Virgil,  to  do  justice  to  the  scene  that  now  met 
his  gaze. 

11  The  story  of  Amphion  was  probably  known  to  Dante  through  Horace, 
A.  P.  1.  394-  The  "  ladies"  are,  of  course,  the  Muses,  who  gave  him  the 
gifts  of  music  and  of  song. 

22  The  lake  is  that  of  Cocytus,  the  pool  of  wailing.   Comp.  C.  xiv.  103-120. 

26  The  descriptions  may,  as  in  other  instances  (C.  ix.  112,  xv.  4,  xx.  65), 
come  in  part  from  personal  knowledge,  or  from  what  had  been  reported  by 
travellers.  I  have  used  Milton's  Donau  for  the  more  modern  Danube.  The 
Tanais  is  the  Don,  which  flows  into  the  Sea  of  Azov.  Tambernach  has  been 
identified  with  Tovarnich  in  Sclavonia,  or  J.ivornick  near  .'\delsberg  in 
Carniola.  Pietra-pana  is  a  mountain  between  Modena  and  Lucca.  One  of 
the  embassies  traditionally  assigned  to  Dante  was  to  the  king  of  Hungary. 
Z07 


HELL  CANTO  XXXII 

As  it  was  there  ;  for  should  the  Tambernach 
Fall  on  it,  or  Pietra  Pana's  rock, 
E'en  on  the  edge  it  had  not  made  a  crack.  *• 

And  as  the  frogs  to  croak  are  wont  to  flock, 

With  snout  thrust  forth  from  water,  when  in  dream 
The  peasant  maiden  gleans  from  every  shock, 

Those  hapless  ghosts  showed  in  that  frozen  stream, 
Livid  as  far  as  part  where  shame  is  shown,  ^ 

And  gnashing  teeth  did  like  storks'  clattering  seem. 

Of  each  the  glance  was  ever  downwards  thrown. 
From  out  their  mouth  the  cold,  and  from  the  face 
Their  sorrowing  heart,  were  all  too  plainly  known. 

When  I  around  had  gazed  a  little  space,  *° 

I  turned  my  glance  towards  my  feet,  and  there 
Saw  two  so  close  their  locks  did  interlace. 

"Tell  me,  O  ye  whose  breasts  are  strained  so  near," 
Said  I,  "who  are  ye  ?  "     And  their  necks  they  bent. 
And  when  to  me  their  faces  they  did  rear,  *^ 

Their  eyes,  which  erst  within  had  tears  deep  pent. 
Gushed  downwards  through  the  lids,  and  then  the 

cold 
Congealed  the  tears  and  stayed  their  free  descent. 

Never  did  rivet  beam  to  beam  so  hold 

Thus  strongly;  whereon  they,  like  goats  that  fight,  ^^ 
Butted,  so  fierce  a  rage  their  hearts  controlled  ; 

And  one,  who  had  both  ears  lost  through  the  might 
Of  that  sharp  frost,  with  visage  downward  bent, 
Said,  "  Why  on  us  dost  mirror  thus  thy  sight  ? 

If  thou  to  know  these  twain  art  so  intent,  " 

The  valley  whence  Bisenzio  downward  pours. 
To  them,  as  to  their  father  Albert,  went ; 

32  If  rhymes  suggested  thoughts,  one  must  admit  that  they  could  scarcely 
have  suggested  a  more  graceful  periphrase  for  summer  than  that  which  heit 
meets  us. 

*2  There  is,  perhaps,  a  latent  symbolism.  Those  who  yield  to  hatred  lose 
the  power  of  listening  to  the  voice  of  reason  or  conscience. 

57  The  two  traitors  are  Napoleon  and  Alessandro  of  the  Alberti  family, 
lords  of  Falterotia.  They  quarrelled  about  the  possession  of  a  tower  in  the 
208 


HELL  CANTO  XXXII 

Both  from  one  womb  did  issue,  and  the  shores 
Of  all  Caina  thou  may'st  search,  nor  find 
Spirit  more  worthy  of  these  frozen  floors;  * 

Not  he  whose  breast  and  shadow,  as  combined. 
Were  with  one  stroke  transfixed  by  Arthur's  hand. 
Nor  yet  Focaccia,  nor  yet  he  behind 

Whose  head,  that  shuts  out  all  my  view,  I  stand, 

And  Sassol  Mascheroni  was  his  name  ;  ® 

Thou  know'st  his  tale  if  thou'rt  from  Tuscan  land  ; 

And  lest  my  over-prolix  speech  thou  blame, 
Camicion  de'  Pazzi  in  me  know; 
I  wait  Carlino,  who  shall  clear  my  fame." 

And  then  I  saw  a  thousand  faces  low,  ""^ 

Livid   with    cold,    whence    o'er    me    shudderings 

creep. 
And  ever  will,  from  all  pools  frozen  so. 

And  as  we  went  toward  the  centre  deep. 
To  which  converges  all  we  know  of  weight, 
I  shivered  where  the  eternal  shadows  sleep.  ^* 

valley  of  the  Bisenzio,  a  tributary  of  the  Arno,  plotted  against  each  other, 
and  died  by  each  other's  hands. 

61  The  traitor  is  Mordred,  the  son  of  Arthur,  who  rebelled  against  his 
father  and  was  slain  by  him  {Morte  d" Arthur,  B.  xxi.  c.  4,  ed.  i868).  The 
sword,  in  common  phrase,  "let  daylight  through  him." 

63  The  name  of  Focaccia  carries  us  to  the  starting-point  of  the  Bianchi  and 
Neri  parties.  He  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  "  White"  Cancellieri.  In 
one  narrative  he  is  said  to  have  assassinated  his  cousin  Sinibaldo,  of  the 
"  Black  "  section,  in  revenge  for  the  murder  of  his  friend  Bertino  ;  in  another, 
to  have  murdered  a  boy,  also  a  cousin,  who  had  insulted  his  father,  but  had 
been  dismissed  by  him  without  punishment.  The  outrage  raised  a  vendetta 
in  Pistoia,  and  this  spread  to  Florence  (  Benv.  Ramb.  in  Scart.  \  Vill.  viii.  38). 

66  Sassol  Mascheroni  of  Florence  murdered  the  only  son  of  an  uncle  that 
he  might  succeed  to  his  estate.  He  was  put  to  death  by  being  rolled  to  and 
fro  in  a  cask  with  spikes  inside,  after  the  manner  of  Regulus.  The  crime 
and  punishment  were  the  talk  of  all  Tuscany.     Hence  1.  66. 

67  Alberto  Camicione  de'  Pazzi,  a  family  in  Valdarno,  murdered  an  uncle 
or  cousin,  Carlino,  of  the  same  family,  in  1302  betrav  ed  the  castle  of 
Piantrevigne  in  Valdarno  to  the  Neri  for  money,  and  afterwards  resold  it  to 
the  Bianchi.     His  greater  guilt  is  to  make  that  of  his  brother  seem  small. 

70  Caina  is  left,  and  the  pilgrims  enter  Anten6ra,  so  called  from  the  traitor 
through  whom  the  Greeks  took  Troy. 

71  As  in  I.  8,  the  earth's  centre  is  the  centre  of  gravity  for  the  whole 
universe.  Here  there  is  perhaps  the  symbol  of  the  thought  that  all  sins  tend 
downward  to  that  abyss. 

209  O 


HELL  CANTO  XXXII 

Whether  'twere  will,  or  fortune's  chance,  or  fate, 
I  know  not,  but  as  o'er  the  heads  I  went. 
My  foot  upon  the  face  of  one  did  grate. 

Wailing  he  cried,  "Why  dost  thou  me  torment? 

Unless  thou  comest  to  increase  the  hate  ^^ 

Of  Montaperti,  why  my  pain  augment?" 

And  I :  "  O  Master,  here,  I  pray  thee,  wait, 
That  I  from  out  my  doubt  may  find  a  way; 
Then,  as  thou  wilt,  my  haste  shall  not  abate." 

My  Guide  then  stopped;  and  1  to  him  did  say,  ^ 

Who  still  was  raving  fierce  with  blasphemy, 
"  Who  art  thou  that  at  others  rail'st  away?" 

"  Nay,  who  art  thou  that  thus,"  he  made  reply, 
"  Through  Antendra,  smiting  cheeks,  dost  go? 
Wert  thou  alive,  'twere  done  too  heavily."  ^ 

"  Alive  I  am,"  I  answered  him,  "  and  so 
May  it  please  thee,  if  thou  to  fame  aspire. 
That  I  thy  name  in  other  rhymes  may  show." 

And  he  :  "  Full  otherwise  is  my  desire ; 

Take  thy  way  hence,  nor  longer  vex  my  soul ;  ^ 

In  this  dark  vale  thy  flattery  doth  but  tire." 

Then  I  put  forth  my  hand  and  seized  his  poll, 

And  said,  "  Now  thou  thy  name  must  needs  confess. 
Or  not  a  single  hair  will  I  leave  whole."  p"" 

And  he  :  "Though  thou  should'st  pluck  each  single  tress, 
I  will  not  show  thee  who  I  am,  nor  t<  II,  [press." 
Though  thousand  times  thy  weight  my  head  should 

81  For  Montaperti,  see  C.  x.  86.  The  speaker  is  Bocca  degli  Abati,  who 
traitorously  cut  off  the  hand  of  Jacopo  de'  Pazzi  at  the  battle  of  Montaperti 
(C.  X.  86),  and  thus  contributed  to  the  defeat  of  the  Guelphs. 

89  The  word  "  Antenora,"  as  applied  to  the  circle  of  traitors  to  their 
country,  indirectly  shows  how  little  Dante  knew  of  Homer.  In  the  Iliad 
(iii.  148,  vii.  345)  Antenor  appears  as  a  wise  counsellor  who  urged  the  Trojans 
to  give  up  Helen.  Dante  follows  a  later  tradition  (Serv.  ad  /Sn.  i.  242), 
which  makes  him  give  up  the  Palladium  to  the  Greeks  and  open  the  door  of 
the  fatal  horse.     See  also  Cam.  xx. 

94  We  note  the  pregnant  force  of  the  contrast  to  what  has  hitherto  been 
the  law  of  man's  nature,  even  among  the  lost.  The  love  of  fame,  the 
desire  to  be  talked  of  among  men,  survives  in  all  the  others.  The  traitors  to 
their  country  desire  eternal  oblivion. 

210 


HELL  CANTO  XXXII 

His  locks  already  I  had  grasped  full  well, 

And  more  than  one  good  handful  I  had  torn, 
While  he  howled  on,  with  eyes  that  downward  fell;  ^^ 

When  one,  "What  ails  thee,  Bocca?"  cried  in  scorn; 
"Is't  not  enough  thy  jaws  our  ears  should  tire, 
But  thou  must  howl  ?    What  devil  makes  thee  mourn  ?" 

"  No  words  of  thine,"  I  said,  "  do  I  desire. 

Thou  caitiff  traitor,  for,  to  thy  foul  shame,  "" 

True  news  of  thee  shall  men  from  me  acquire." 

"  Away,"  he  answered,  "  what  thou  wilt,  proclaim  ; 
But  shroud  not  him,  if  thou  return  above, 
Whose  tongue  was  now  too  prompt  to  tell  my  name. 

The  silver  of  the  French  his  tears  doth  move;  "' 

'  I  saw  him  of  Duera,'  thou  may'st  say, 
'  Where  guilty  souls  their  icy  torments  prove.' 

If  thou  art  asked  what  others  there  did  stay, 
He  of  Beccaria  standeth  at  thy  side. 
Whose  gorget  fine  our  Florence  cut  away;  '^ 

Gianni  del  Soldanier  doth  abide 

With  Ganellon  and  Tebaldell',  I  trow. 

Who,  while  Faenza  slept,  her  gates  oped  wide." 

103  Xhe  pitiless  cruelty  of  the  act  which  Dante  invents,  as  it  were,  for  his 
own  glory  is  another  note  of  his  abhorrence  of  treachery  as  the  deadliest  of 
all  crimes.     See  note  on  C.  xxxiii.  117. 

lis  The  treachery  of  Buoso  da  Duera  of  Cremona  may  be  briefly  told. 
Manfred,  son  of  Frederick  II.,  had  given  him  money  to  stop  the  passage  of 
the  French  army  which  Guy  de  Montfort  was  leading  against  him.  He  took 
the  money  and  did  nothing  with  it ;  took  money  also  from  the  French  and 
made  no  resistance  (KjV/.  vii.  4  ;  Malisp.  c.  185).  To  a  Ghibelline  who,  like 
Dante,  saw  in  the  success  of  Charles  of  Anjou  the  beginning  of  all  evils,  for 
Italv,  thatact  of  treachery  would  seem  especially  hateful.  Comp.  fCtttg'i.  ii.445. 

11^  Tesauro  di  Beccheria  of  Pavia  was  Abbot  of  Vallombrosa  and  Legate 
of  Alexander  IV.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Ghibellines  in  1258,  he  was 
accused  by  the  Guelph  party,  then  in  power,  of  having  plotted  with  them 
against  Florence,  was  tortured  till  he  confessed  his  guilt,  and  then  beheaded. 
The  Pope  avenged  him  by  an  interdict  (f^zV/.  vi.  65  ;  Malisp.  c.  160).  Dante 
seems  to  put  the  Ghibelline  traitor  side  by  side  with  Buoso,  as  if  to  show 
that  he  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  of  whatever  party. 

121  The  Soldanier  family  belonged  to  the  Ghibelline  noblesse  of  Florence, 
but  Gianni  was  a  traitor  to  the  cause.  After  the  defeat  of  Manfred  at 
Benevento  (1266),  when  Guido  Novello  led  his  Ghibelline  forces  out  of 
Florence,  Gianni  made  himself  master  of  the  city,  and  used  his  power  for 
his  own  advantage  only. 

122  In   Ganellone  we  pass  from  recent  history  to  distant  romance. 

ZII 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

Already  we  had  left  him,  and  withdrew, 

When  in  one  pit  I  saw  two  frozen  thrust,  ^ 

So  that  one  head  as  hood  to  th'  other  grew  ; 

And,  as  a  famished  man  devours  a  crust, 
So  there  the  topmost  one  his  teeth  set  fast. 
Where  skull  with  neck  the  juncture  doth  adjust ; 

Not  otherwise  did  Tydeus  make  repast  ^^ 

Of  Menalippus'  skull  in  his  disdain. 
Than  he  on  scalp  and  what  it  held  broke  fast. 

"  O  thou  whose  hate  in  bestial  sign  is  plain, 

Thy  hate  for  him  whom  thou  dost  thus  devour, 
Do  thou,  these  terms  agreed,  the  '  why  '  explain  ;  '^ 

That  if  of  right  thy  rage  on  him  doth  pour, 
I,  knowing  who  ye  are  and  what  his  sin, 
May  pay  thee  when  I  reach  the  world  once  more, 

Unless  my  tongue  lie  stiff  my  lips  within." 


CANTO  XXXIII 

UgoUno  and  Ruggier'i — Ptolomtea—  Traitors  to  their  Friends — 
Alherigo 

His  mouth  that  sinner  from  his  fierce  repast 
Uplifted  then,  and  wiped  it  on  the  hair 
Of  that  same  head  that  he  behind  laid  waste, 

appears  in  the  Charlemagne  myths  as  the  traitor  who  caused  the  great  rout  of 
Roncesvalles  (C.  xxxi.  i6).  Tebaldello  dei  Zambrasi  of  Kaenza  betrayed  his 
city  to  the  Bolognese,  Ravennese,  and  others,  who  were  besieging  it  under 
orders  from  Martin  IV.  (1281),  by  sending  him  a  cast  of  the  lock  of  the  city 
gates,  which  enabled  them  to  make  a  key  that  opened  it  (Murat.  xiv.  1 105  ; 
Vill.  vii.  80). 

126  xhe  position  of  the  two  as  not  on  the  same  level  seems  to  indicate  that 
we  are  on  the  point  of  passing  from  Antenora  to  Ptolomsea  (C.  xxxiii.  124). 
Ugolino  was  a  traitor  to  his  country,  Ruggieri  to  his  friend. 

130  Xhe  whole  picture  is  reproduced  from  Stat.  Theb.  viii.  740-767,  ix.  1-20. 
Tydeus  was  one  of  the  Seven  against  Thebes  ;  Menalippus,  a  Theban  whom 
he  had  killed,  and  whose  head  he  outraged  with  the  brute  hatred  here 
described. 

138  Xhe  payment  is  found  (i)  in  the  narrative  which  has  immortalised 
Ugolino's  name  ;  (2)  perhaps  also  in  the  doubt  of  C.  xxxiii.  86  as  to  his  guilt. 

1  An  echo  from  Lucan's  description  of  Erichtho,  "  Hac  ubi  fata,  caput, 
212 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

And  then  began  :  "  Anew  thou  bidd'st  me  bear 

The  desperate  sorrows  on  my  heart  that  weigh,         ' 
Even  in  thought,  while  I  from  speech  forbear ; 

But,  if  my  words  as  seed  their  part  shall  play 
To  bear  the  fruit  of  shame  to  him  I  eat. 
My  tears  and  words  shall  mingled  find  their  way. 

I  know  not  who  thou  art,  nor  how  thy  feet  ^° 

Are  led  below,  but,  as  thy  speech  I  hear, 
Thou  seem'st  to  me  a  Florentine  complete. 

Know  then  thou  see'st  Count  Ugolino  here. 
And  this  the  Archbishop  Ruggieri  is ; 
Now  list  why  such  a  neighbour  I  appear.  ^^ 

sfiumantiaque  ora  levavit"  (vi.  719),  as  I.  4  is  of  the  "  in/andum,  regina, 
jubes  renovare  dolorent  {Ain.  ii.  3). 

7  The  words  form  a  parallel  to  those  in  the  story  of  Francesca,  '  Faro 
come  colui  che  piange  e  dice  "  (C.  v.  126),  of  which  the  narrative  that  follows 
is,  in  some  sense,  the  counterpart. 

11  Linguistic  commentators  point  to  the  fact  that  the  speech  of  Dante  in 
C.  xxxii.  133-139  contains  in  the  original  not  less  than  seven  words  which 
distinctly  belong  to  the  dialect  of  Florence. 

1*  Pisa  was  conspicuously  Ghibelline  in  its  politics,  and  in  1274  it  expelled 
the  Visconti  and  Gherardeschi,  who  were  Guelphs,  to  the  latter  of  which 
families  Ugolino  belonged.  They  allied  them.selves  with  the  other  Guelphs 
of  Tuscany,  and  attacked  Pisa,  and  succeeded  in  securing  their  recall. 
Ugolino  became  master  of  the  situation,  and  in  1282  was  chosen  as  captain 
of  the  people  in  a  war  against  Genoa,  in  which  the  Pisans  were  defeated 
with  great  loss  at  the  battle  of  Meloria,  and  this  was  followed  by  a  general 
league  of  the  Guelph  cities  against  them.  Ugolino  met  the  crisis  by  ceding 
several  fortresses  to  Florence  and  expelling  the  Ghibellines.  The  way  now 
seemed  open  to  making  himself  lord  of  Pisa,  but  he  was  thwarted  by  a 
nephew,  Anselm  di  Capraia,  of  whom  he  got  rid  by  poison.  Another  rival 
appeared  in  the  person  of  his  grandson,  Nino,  judge  of  Gallura  in  Sardinia 
{Purg.  viii.  53).  The  Ghibelhnes  finding  the  Guelphs  thus  divided,  placed 
themselves  under  the  lead  of  Ruggieri  degli  Ubaldini,  Archbishop  of  Pisa. 
Nino  and  Ugolino  joined  hands  under  the  pressure  of  the  common  danger, 
but  fresh  jealousies  sprung  up  which  led  Ugolino  to  a  new  coalition  with 
Ruggieri.  The  former  retired  to  a  castle  in  the  neighbourhood,  the  latter 
was  driven  out  of  Pisa.  Ugolino  returned  to  Pisa  and  celebrated  his  triumph 
by  a  grand  banquet,  the  mirth  of  which  was  darkened  by  the  words  of  a 
court-fool,  who  being  asked  what  he  thought  of  it  all,  answered  that  "  The 
giver  of  the  feast  seemed  to  him  nearer  than  any  man  in  Italy  to  a  great 
disaster."  The  disaster  came  through  the  treachery  of  the  Archbishop,  who 
turned  the  tide  of  popular  feeling  against  Ugolino,  and  had  him  imprisoned 
on  a  charge  of  treason,  with  two  sons  and  two  grandsons,  in  a  tower  on  the 
Piazza  degli  Anziani  (July  1288).  Florence  rallied  to  the  defence  of  its 
Guelph  ally  against  the  Pisan  Ghibellines,  and  they  put  themselves  under 
the  command  of  Guido  da  Montefeltro  (C.  xxvii.  67),  who  arrived  in  Pisa  in 
March  1289.  The  Pisans  then  took  the  resolve  which  issued  in  the  tragedy 
ofwhich  Dante  tells.    The  keys  of  the  tower  were  thrown  into  the  Arno, 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

That  I  by  work  of  evil  thoughts  of  his. 

Trusting  to  him,  was  first  a  prisoner  made, 
And  after  killed,  no  need  to  tell  thee  this  ; 

But  what  before  thee  cannot  have  been  laid, 

That  is,  how  sharp  and  dread  my  death  has  been,    ^ 
Thou  now  shalt  hear;  then  let  my  wrongs  be  weighed. 

A  little  window,  that  hawk's-cage  within, 

Which  now  through  me  as  Hunger's  Tower  is  known 
(And  others  too  its  gates  shall  enter  in). 

Through  its  small  aperture  to  me  had  shown  ^ 

Full  many  a  moon,  when  I  dreamt  ill  dream  true, 
In  which  the  future's  veil  aside  was  thrown. 

I  saw  this  lord  and  chief  his  prey  pursue, 
Chasing  the  wolf  and  wolf-cubs  on  the  hill 
Which  hideth  Lucca  from  the  Pisans'  view,  ^ 

With  hungry  hounds  well-trained,  of  eager  will : 
Gualandi  and  Lanfranchi  and  Sismond' 
He  had  there  set  the  foremost  place  to  fill. 

A  little  while,  and  sire  and  sons  were  found, 

So  seemed  it,  wearied  out  ;  fangs  sharp  and  dread    ^ 
Upon  their  flanks  made  many  a  horrid  wound. 

and    the  prisoners  were  left  to  starve  to  death  (Fitur.  i.  491-503 ;    yiii. 
vii   121). 

19  As  in  the  story  of  Francesca,  Dante  fixes  precisely  on  the  points  in  the 
tragedy  which  no  one  knew  or  could  know,  and  evolves  what  must  have 
been,  from  the  depths  of  his  own  imagination. 

22  "  Hawk's  cage,"  Ital.  muda  =  iDsv/s,  in  the  old  sense  of  the  word,  as  the 
place  in  which  hawks,  eagles,  &c.,  were  kept  during  their  moulting  or 
"mewing"  season.  The  tower  may  have  been  used  for  that  purpose,  but  is 
said  to  have  been  known  as  the  Torre  de'  Gualandi  till  after  the  tragedy, 
when  it  gained  the  new  name  of  Torre  della  Fame,  It  has  been  since 
destroyed. 

'■**  The  "  others"  may  refer  to  the  fact  that  a  grandson  of  Ugolino's,  who 
had  been  rescued  by  his  nurse  and  taken  to  Lucca,  came  to  Pisa  when  he 
had  grown  to  manhood,  and  said  that  he  wished  to  share  the  doom  of  his 
family.  The  Pisans  imprisoned  him  in  the  tower,  but  allowed  his  nurse  to 
attend  him,  and  both  were  liberated  by  Charles  IV.  (see  Philath.),  or, 
according  to  another  tradition,  Henry  VII.  of  Luxembourg  (^Scart.). 

26  The  imprisonment,  as  shown  above,  had  lasted  eight  months.  The  v.  1. 
lunte  for  lune  is  obviously  inadmissible. 

28  The  Italian  "  maestro  e  donno  "  may  perhaps  convey  a  sarcastic  reference 
to  John  xiii.  13.  Extremest  unlikeness  was  emphasised  by  using  the  words 
that  described  the  True  Shepherd. 

31  The  dream  is  haunted  as  by  memories  of  treachery.    On  that  mountain 
Z14 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

When  I  awoke,  ere  yet  the  night  had  fled, 
Still  in  their  sleep  I  heard  my  children  wail, 
Who  there  were  with  me,  crying  out  for  bread. 

Full  hard  art  thou,  if  grief  shall  not  prevail  ^^ 

To  touch  thee,  thinking  what  my  heart  did  cry; 
When  canst  thou  weep,  if  now  to  weep  thou  fail? 

Already  they  had  waked  ;  the  hour  drew  nigh 
Till  which  they  had  been  wont  for  food  to  wait, 
And  each  one's  dream  brought  sore  perplexity.         *■' 

I  heard  the  locking  of  the  lower  gate 

Of  that  dread  tower,  and  then  awhile  I  stared 
In  my  sons'  faces,  speechless,  desolate. 

I  wept  not ;  all  within  as  stone  grew  hard. 

They  wept,  and  then  my  Anselmuccio  said,  *" 

'  What  ails  thee,  father  ?     Why  this  fixed  regard  ? ' 

And  still  I  shed  no  tear,  nor  answer  made 

All  that  long  day,  nor  yet  the  following  night. 
Till  the  next  sun  was  o'er  the  world  displayed; 

And  when  there  came  a  little  ray  of  light  ^ 

Into  the  dolorous  prison,  and  I  knew 
My  own  face  by  four  faces'  piteous  plight; 

Then  both  my  hands  in  anguish  I  gnawed  through. 
And  they,  who  deemed  that  hunger  did  constrain 
To  eat,  rose  up  with  one  accord  to  sue,  *" 

ridge  (Monte  San  Giuliano)  stood  most  of  the  fortresses  which  Ugolino  was 
charged  with  having  surrendered  to  the  Lucchese.  He  is,  as  it  were,  the 
wolf  the  hunters  are  pursuing,  and  his  children  are  the  cubs.  The  three 
houses  of  1.  32  are  those  of  Pisan  Ghibellines  who  were  supporters  of  Ruggieri. 

37  The  time  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  prevailing  belief  as  to  the 
truth  of  morning  dreams  (C.  xxvi.  7). 

38  As  stated  above,  there  were  two  sons,  Gaddo  and  Uguccione,  two 
grandsons,  Nino,  surnamed  Brigata,  son  of  Count  Guelfo,  and  Anselmuccio, 
son  of  Count  Lotto  (Murat.  vi.  595).  Many  historians,  however,  including 
a  chronicle  of  Pisa  (Murat.  xv.  579),  speak,  as  Dante  does,  of  four. 

39  Did  Latn.  iv.  4  float  before  the  memory  of  the  student  of  Jeremiah  ? 
(C.  i.  32)  Here  there  is  the  added  misery  that  the  children  cry  for  bread 
even  in  their  sleep,  as  in  1.  45  they  dream  of  starvation,  and  when  they  wake 
each  tells  the  spesial  form  which  the  horror  has  assumed.  And  in  the  midst 
of  this  there  came  the  sound  which  told  them  that  all  hope  was  gone.  So 
passed  a  day  and  night,  and  then  the  father  saw  the  fierce  rage  of  hunger  in 
his  children  s  faces,  and  knew  that  his  own  was  growing  to  be  like  theirs. 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

And  said,  *  O  father,  less  will  be  our  pain 

If  thou  eat  us  ;  thou  didst  these  frames  array 
With  this  poor  flesh,  now  strip  it  off  again.* 

I  calmed  me  then  their  anguish  to  allay; 

That  day,  and  then  the  next,  we  all  were  dumb  :     ^ 
Hard  earth,  why  opened  not  thy  depths  that  day  ? 

And  when  unto  the  fourth  day  we  had  come, 
Gaddo  lay  stretched  before  my  feet,  and  cried, 
'Why,  father,  help'st  thou  not?'  and  there,  in 
sum. 

He  died ;  and  as  thou  see'st  me,  so  I  eyed  *" 

The  three  fall  down,  and  perish  one  by  one. 
The  fifth  day  and  the  sixth,  and  then  I  tried. 

Already  blind,  to  grope  o'er  them  alone. 

And  three  days  called  them  after  they  were  dead; 
Then  even  grief  by  hunger  was  outdone."  " 

Then,  with  his  eyes  askance,  as  this  he  said. 

On  that  poor  skull  he  gripped  his  teeth  full  well, 
Which,  like  a  dog's,  upon  the  bare  bone  fed. 

68  The  thought  is  common  enough  in  the  conscious  or  unconscious  poetry 
of  all  ages,  but  with  Dante  there  may  have  been  a  distinct  echo  of  ^n.  x. 
673,  xii.  881. 

"8  Gaddo,  the  elder  of  the  two  sons. 

73  Here  again  we  hesitate  between  seeing  in  the  words  the  originating 
touch  of  the  supreme  artist,  or  an  echo  of  the  words  in  which  Ovid  {Met,  vi. 
277)  describes  the  grief  of  Niobe — 

"  Corporibus gelidis  incuntbit,  ei  orditte  nulla 
Oscula  dispensat  natos  suprema  per  otnnes." 

75  What  has  been  called  the  "  teknophagy  of  Ugolino  "  has  become  one 
of  the  burning  questions  of  Dante's  commentators,  and  volumes  have  been 
written  on  it.  The  main  argument  on  the  negative  side  is  a  scream  of 
horror.  It  was  too  horrible  for  poetry,  too  sickening  for  human  nature  to 
endure.  To  this  there  seems  a  sufficient  answer  in  the  facts :  (i)  that  Dante 
shrinks  from  no  horror,  and  fathoms  the  very  depths  of  human  misery  ;  (2) 
that  like  horrors  have  been  enacted  of  old  in  the  history  of  besieged  cities 
{Deut.  xxviii.  56,  57  ;  2  JCin^s  vi.  28),  and  that  our  own  time  has  not  been 
without  a  proof  that  cannibalism  is  possible  even  among  civilised  and 
Christian  men ;  (3)  that  the  suggestive  reticence  has  a  distmct  parallel  in 
that  of  C.  V.  138  ;  (4)  that  the  description  of  C.  xxxii.  125  apparently  indicates 
such  an  act.  On  the  other  hand,  Dante's  words  do  not  necessarily  mean 
more  than  that  Ugolino  died  not  of  grief  but  of  starvation.  The  paraphrase 
of  the  whole  story  in  Chaucer's  Monk's  Tale  shows  how  that  passage  of  the 
Inferno  had  impressed  itself  on  the  minds  of  Europe.  Michael  Angelo  and 
Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  have  made  it  memorable  in  art. 
Z16 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

Ah  Pisa!  shame  and  blot  of  all  that  dwell 

In  that  fair  country  where  the  Si  doth  sound;  *• 

Since  neighbour  states  work  not  their  vengeance  fell, 

Let  Caprai'  and  Gorgona  shift  their  ground, 
And  make  a  dam  for  Arno's  issuing  tide. 
So  that  each  living  soul  in  thee  be  drowned! 

For  e'en  if  Ugolino  rumour  wide  ^ 

Did  charge  with  guilt  of  citadels  betrayed. 
Not  by  such  torture  should  his  sons  have  died. 

Guiltless  of  crimes  their  tender  age  them  made, 
(O  thou  new  Thebes!),  Brigat',  Uguccion, 
And  those  whose  names  my  song  above  hath  said.     *** 

Then  by  the  frozen  pool  our  steps  passed  on. 
Where  it  binds  fast  another  people  yet. 
Not  downward  bent,  but  upward  turned  each  one. 

Weeping  itself  makes  them  to  weep  forget. 

And  grief,  which  finds  a  barrier  in  their  eyes,  ^ 

Is  turned  within  new  anguish  to  beget ; 

For  the  first  tears  that  flow  grow  cluster-wise. 
And,  like  a  visor  all  of  crystal  made, 
Fill  all  the  socket  whence  the  eyebrows  rise, 

79  Compare  the  parallel  Imprecation  on  Pistoia,  C.  xxv.  10-12. 

80  Italy,  as  the  land  where  jz'  stood  for  "yes,"  as  oc  did  in  the  S.W.  of 
France  (Langue  d'oc),  and  oii  or  oui  in  Northern  France  (K.  £.  i.  10).  The 
"neighbour  states"  were  Lucca  and  Florence.  Historians,  howevef,  saw 
in  the  disasters  which  fell  on  Pisa  at  the  hands  of  Florence  and  Genoa  the 
due  punishment  of  its  guilt  {Viil.  vii.  128). 

**2  Capraia  and  Gorgona  are  two  islands  near  the  mouth  of  the  Arno,  which, 
seen  from  Pisa,  seem  also  to  close  it  up.  Dante's  wish  is  that  they  would 
actually  form  a  dam,  so  that  the  river  might  drown  the  city  with  its  pent-up 
waters. 

86  In  placing  Ugolino  in  Anten6ra,  Dante  seems  to  affirm  the  charge. 
Here  he  speaks  as  if  it  were  more  or  less  doubtful.  Three  castles  were  said 
to  have  been  betrayed  to  the  Florentine,  four  to  the  Lucchesi  (^Nap.  i.  313). 

88  Adolescence,  the  "  tender  age  "  of  man's  life,  is  reckoned  in  the  Conv. 
iv.  24  as  extending  to  the  twenty-fifth  year.  Chaucer  (/.  c.)  makes  \\\^eldeit 
of  the  three  children  scarcely  five  ;  but  this  has  no  foundation,  and  is  at 
variance  with  history. 

89  The  parallel  is  found  in  the  cruelty  with  which  Thebes  treated  the 
children  of  Cadmus. 

91  From  Antenora  we  pass  to  Ptolomaea,  where  the  souls  are  plunged 
deeper  in  the  frozen  pool,  their  faces  just  seen  turned  upwards. 
97  The  blindness  of  the  ice-closed  eyes  is  obviously  the  symbol  of  the 
217 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIII 

And  though,  with  horny  numbness  overlaid  ^*' 

Through  the  sharp  cold,  the  very  nerves  of  sense 
Seemed  all  from  out  my  countenance  to  fade, 

Yet  thought  I  that  I  felt  a  wind  somewhence. 
So  I :  "  O  Master,  who  this  air  doth  move  ? 
Are  not  all  vapours  banished  far  from  hence?"        ^"^ 

Then  he  to  me:  "  Full  soon  thine  eyes  shall  prove, 
Thyself  being  there,  the  very  answer  true. 
Beholding  what  this  wind  doth  stir  above." 

And  one  of  that  ice-bound  and  wretched  crew 

Cried  to  us  ;  "  O  ye  spirits  harsh  and  proud,  "" 

So  that  the  lowest  place  is  given  to  you, 

Lift  for  me  from  mine  eyes  this  icy  cloud. 
A  moment  let  my  burdened  heart  find  vent, 
Before  my  tears  renew  their  frozen  shroud." 

Then  I  :  "If  thou  upoTi  my  help  are  bent,  ^'^ 

Say  who  thou  art ;  unless  I  free  thine  eye, 
May  I  go  down  this  ice-pool's  deep  descent!" 

Then  he  replied  :  "  Fra  Alberigo  I, 

Known  by  the  fruits  in  evil  garden  bred, 

Now  date  for  fig  is  paid  me  where  I  lie."  ^^ 

induration  of  feeling  and  of  conscience  which  the  traitor's  act  brings  with  it 
as  its  natural  consequence,  and  therefore  its  punishment. 

105  xhe  icy  blast,  which  the  student  of  Nature  cannot  explain  on  any 
theory  of  evaporation,  comes,  as  is  told  in  C.  xxxiv.  51,  from  the  wings  of 
Lucifer. 

113  Living  men,  even  the  souls  of  the  lost  (C.  v.  140),  know  the  relief  of 
tears.  The  crowning  misery  of  the  traitors  against  friends  is  that  that  relief 
is  denied  them. 

117  One  notes  the  deliberate  equivocation  which  finds  its  outcome  in  1.  149. 
We  may  perhaps,  as  in  C.  xxxii.  103,  draw  the  lesson,  not  contemplated  by 
the  poet,  that  there  is  a  danger  lest  what  seems  a  righteous  indignation 
against  evil — the  "doing  well  to  be  angry  "—should  lead  us  on  to  an  evil 
like  in  kind  to  that  which  we  condemn.  Men  may  become  false  through 
their  scorn  of  falsehood,  cruel  in  their  hatred  of  cruelty. 

118  Fra  Alberigo,  of  the  house  of  the  Manfredi  of  Faenza,  entered  the 
Order  of  the  Knights  Joyous  (C.  xxiii.  103).  His  cousin  Manfred  had  struck 
him  in  a  quarrel.  He  hid  his  rage  at  the  time,  pretended  to  forgive,  and 
invited  Manfred  to  a  feast.  When  the  meal  was  over,  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  Now  for  the  fruit"  (Veniant /rucius),  and  armed  men  came  from 
behind  a  screen  and  murdered  Manfred  and  one  of  his  sons  (Vill.  x.  27). 
Hence  the  proverb,  "The  fruit  of  Fra  Alberigo,"  for  a  treacherous  revenge 
(Pulci.  Morg.  Magg.  c.  25).  In  1.  120  we  have  another  proverbial  equivalent 
of  "  measure  for  measure  "  in  a  form  specially  appropriate.    See  Fan.  iv.  19. 

ziS 


HELL  CANTO  xxxiii 

"Oh!"  said  I  to  him,  "now  art  thou  too  dead?" 
And  he  to  me  :  "  How  my  poor  carcase  fares 
Up  in  the  world,  all  knowledge  now  hath  fled. 

This  privilege  our  Ptolomaea  bears, 

That  oftentimes  the  spirit  falls  below,  '* 

Ere  Atropos  hath  plied  her  fatal  shears. 

And  that  thou  may'st  more  willingly  bid  flow 
The  frozen  tears,  and  scrape  them  from  my  face. 
Learn  that  as  soon  as  men  deal  treacherous  blow, 

As  I  have  done,  their  frame  is  seized  apace  ^* 

By  demon's  power,  who  henceforth  it  doth  guide, 
Till  life  has  measured  its  appointed  space  : 

To  such  a  pit  as  this  it  then  doth  glide  ; 
And  so,  perchance,  his  body  still  is  seen 
Above,  whose  soul  is  freezing  at  my  side.  ^* 

This,  if  thou'rt  just  come  down,  thou  know'st,  I 
ween; 
Ser  Branca  d'Oria  he,  and  many  a  year 
Has  passed  since  he  a  prisoner  here  hath  been." 

"  I  trow,"  said  I,  "  that  thou  deceiv'st  me  here. 

For  Branca  d'Oria  is  as  yet  not  dead  ;  ^^ 

He  eats  and  drinks  and  sleeps  and  clothes  doth 
wear." 

121  Manfred  was  slain  in  1295  ;  Alberigo  was  still  living  in  1300.  Hence 
Dante's  wonder. 

123  Xhe  ignorance  of  the  lost  as  to  what  is  passing  in  the  world  extends 
even  to  the  state  of  the  body  which  Alberigo  had  left  behind  him. 

124  The  name  is  probably  connected  with  the  Ptolemy  who  treacherously 
murdered  Simon,  the  father  of  Judas  Maccabaeus,  and  his  sons  (i  Mace,  xvl 
11-16),  rather  than  with  the  king  of  Egypt  who  slew  Pompeius. 

126  Of  the  three  Parcae  or  Fates  of  classical  mythology,  Atropos  was  she 
who  with  her  shears  cut  the  thread  of  life  which  her  sisters  span. 

130  Xhe  thought  is  probably  evolved  from  John  xiii.  27,  and  may  have 
seemed  an  explanation  of  the  absolutely  fiendish  malignity  to  be  seen  in 
extreme  developments  of  evil. 

137  As  in  1.  122,  the  question  whether  the  body  still  lives  on  earth  is  one 
which  the  lost  soul  cannot  answer.  What  he  does  know  is  that  the  real 
Branca  d'  Oria  is  at  his  side.  The  treachery  referred  to  was  Branca's  murder 
of  his  father-in-law,  Michael  Zanche  (C.  xxii.  28),  in  order  that  he  might  get 
possession  of  his  post  at  Logodoro.  Branca  d'  Oria  was  alive  in  1311  (Dino. 
c.  iii.  App.  ;  Murat.  ix.  528),  so  that  Dante's  reproach  was  aimed  at  a  man 
living  when  he  wrote,  perhaps  even  when  he  published,  his  poem.  The 
"  kinsman"  was  a  nephew  who  was  an  accomplice  in  the  murder. 
219 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

"In  moat  above  of  Malebranche  dread," 

Said  he,  "where  clammy  pitch  doth  boil  alway. 
Not  yet  had  Michael  Zanche  shown  his  head, 

When  this  man  in  his  place  left  fiend  to  stay  *** 

In  his  own  body,  and  a  kinsman's  too. 
Who  with  him  chose  the  traitor's  part  to  play. 

But  hither  stretch  thine  hand  to  me  who  sue  ; 
Open  mine  eyes."     And  I — I  oped  them  not, 
For  to  cheat  him  was  chivalrous  and  true.  ^"° 

Ha  !  ha !  ye  Genoese,  ye  strange  bad  lot. 
Ill-mannered,  full  of  every  purpose  vile. 
Why  doth  the  world  not  cast  you  out  to  rot  ? 

For  with  Romagna's  soul  most  steeped  in  guile. 

One  of  yourselves,  yea,  such  an  one  I  found,  ^" 

Whose  soul  now  in  Cocytus  bathes,  the  while 

He  seems  in  flesh  to  live  above  the  ground. 


CANTO  XXXIV 

TAe  Giudecca — Traitors   to   their  Lords — Lucifer — Judas — 
•   Brutus — Cassius — T/ie  Stars  seen  again 

"  Vexilla  Regis  prodeunt,  those  of  Hell 

Now  meet  us  ;  wherefore  look  in  front  of  thee," 
My  Master  said,  "if  thou  canst  see  him  well." 

IS*  See  note  on  1.  117. 

1*1  There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  Genoa  was  worse  than  other  Italian 
cities,  but  its  annals,  like  theirs,  presented  a  sufficient  calendar  of  crimes  of 
perfidy  and  cruelty  to  justify  Dante's  condemnation  {Murat.  vi.  106).  Possibly 
the  poet  was  influenced  by  Virgil's  words  as  to  the  Ligurian  character, 
"  Consilio  versart  dolos  ingressus  et  astu,"  "  Patrias  teniasti  lubricus 
artes"  {/En.  xi.  704-717). 

1**  The  soul  from  Romagna  is  Fra  Alberigo. 

1  The  opening  words  transfer  to  Lucifer,  as  with  a  grim  irony,  one  of  the 

frandest  of  the   Church's  Passion  hymns,   written   in  the   6th  century   by 
'ortunatus.  Bishop  of  Poitiers — 

"  Vexilla  reg^ is  prodeunt, 
Fulget  crucis  tnysterium, 
Quo  came  camis  conditor 
Suspensus  est  patibulo," 
220 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

As  when  a  thick  cloud  floats  on  heavily, 

Or  when  our  hemisphere  is  wrapt  in  night,  ^ 

A  mill  with  wind-tossed  sails  far  off  we  see, 

So  now  methought  like  structure  came  to  light. 
Then  from  the  gale  I  shelter  sought  behind 
My  Guide,  for  other  screen  was  none  in  sight. 

Now  I  was  there — with  fear  my  rhymes  I  find —         '° 
Where  every  spirit  lies  all  covered  o'er. 
And  shows  like  straw  in  crystal  vase  confined; 

Some  prostrate  lie,  some  stand  up  evermore. 
Some  on  their  feet,  and  others  on  their  head. 
Some,  like  an  arch,  with  head  to  feet  turned  o'er.    ^* 

When  just  so  far  our  steps  did  onward  tread. 
It  pleased  my  Master  unto  me  to  show 
Him  who  once  all  created  beauty  led. 

He  from  before  me  moved,  and  left  me  so. 

"Look  thou  on  Dis,"he  said ;  "lo !  here  thou'rt  come,^ 
Where  thou  well  armed  with  boldness  needs  must 
go." 

How  icy  cold  I  then  became  and  numb, 
Ask  it  not.  Reader,  for  I  cannot  write; 
All  language  would  be  weak  that  dread  to  sum. 

Death  was  not  mine,  yet  life  had  failed  me  quite ;        ^ 
Bethink  thee  now,  if  that  thy  wit  be  keen. 
What  I  became  of  both  bereaved  outright. 

The  Emperor  of  that  dolorous  realm  was  seen. 
From  his  breast  upwards  issuing  from  the  ice ; 
And  nearer  I  to  giant's  bulk,  I  ween,  ^ 

11  In  the  last  and  lowest  circle,  the  immersion  of  the  lost  souls  in  the 
frozen  lake,  which  we  have  seen  in  its  several  stages,  is  now  complete ;  so 
complete  that  none  are  recognised^  and  the  representatives  of  the  Giudecca 
are  confined  to  the  three  who  are  in  the  jaws  of  Lucifer. 

18  The  sin  of  Lucifer,  the  "Son  of  the  Morning"  (Dante  follows  the 
patristic  interpretation  of  the  Vulg.oi  Ua.  xiv.  12),  was  in  Christian  tradition 
that  he  fell,  in  the  hour  of  his  creation,  into  the  sin  of  pride  on  contemplating 
his  own  ineffable  beauty,  and  that  this  led  to  his  rebellion.  Comp.  Purg, 
xii.  25  ;  Par.  xix.  47. 

'•^  The  word  "emperor"  had  been  used  in  C.  i.  124  of  God.     Here  it  is 
fitly  used  of  the  supreme  enemy  of  God.     Comp.  Par.  xii.  40,  xxv.  41. 
221 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

Than  giants  to  his  arms'  great  stature  rise. 

Now  what  the  whole  thou  canst  imagine  well. 
Which  to  the  part  is  fashioned  in  like  guise. 

Were  he  as  fair  once  as  he  now  is  fell, 

And  then  against  his  Maker  raised  his  head,  ^ 

Well  might  from  him  proceed  all  woes  of  Hell. 

O  how  it  seemed  to  me  a  marvel  dread 
When  on  one  head  I  saw  a  threefold  face ! 
One  looked  in  front,  and  that  was  fiery  red ; 

The  other  twain  close  by  it  held  their  place,  *" 

Above  the  middle  of  each  shoulder-blade. 
And  rose  and  joined  beneath  the  crest's  embrace. 

The  right  a  tint  of  yellowish-white  displayed  ; 
The  left  was  such  to  look  on  as  are  those 
There  where  Nile's  waters  have  an  outlet  made.      *" 

31  Arithmetical  commentators  amuse  themselves  with  calculating  the 
archfiend's  height,  starting  from  the  pine-cone  of  St.  Peter's  in  C.  xxxi.  59, 
and  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  it  was  about  4212  feet,  more  or  less. 

36  Dante,  like  Milton  and  the  teaching  of  Catholic  theologians  generally, 
accepts  the  fall  of  Satan,  itself  explained  by  the  assumption  that  created 
perfection  implied  perfect  freedom  of  will,  and  therefore  the  possibility  of 
sin,  as  the  explanation  of  all  subsequent  evil,  moral  and  physical,  in  the 
history  of  the  universe.     (So  Brunetto  in  his  Tesaretto,  c.  vii.) 

38  Agreeing  in  this  speculative  point,  Milton  and  Dante  are  divided,  as  by 
a  whole  heaven,  in  their  treatment  of  the  rebel  angel.  When  the  former 
spoke  of  the  "archangel  ruined,"  whose  "form  had  not  yet  lost  all  its 
original  brightness,"  he  must  have  written  with  a  full  knowledge  of  what 
Dante  had  written  before  him,  and  his  picture  must  therefore  have  been  of 
the  nature  of  a  deliberate  protest.  Dante's  view,  it  need  hardly  be  added,  is 
that  which  is  embodied  in  the  grotesque  demons  of  medieval  art,  as  seen, 
e.g.,  in  Orcagna's  frescoes  in  the  Campo  Santo  of  Pisa  (Amp.  p.  234),  and  in 
S.  Maria  Novella  at  Florence  (D'Agincouri,  III.  Pi.  119),  and  Giotto's  in 
the  Chapel  of  the  Bargello  (Crowe,  i.  p.  260-262),  painted  in  1300,  which 
actually  reproduce  the  picture  of  the  three  sinners  in  the  mouth  of  the  triple- 
headed  Satan.  The  symbol  is,  indeed,  said  to  have  been  common  before 
Dante  (Didron,  f/ist.  de  Dieu,  in  IVeg.  609).  Evil,  from  his  standpoint, 
was  to  be  represented  as  base  and  hideous,  with  no  element  of  nobleness 
remaining.     The  three  faces  have  received  many  different  interpretations. 

(1)  They  have  been  taken  as  the  symbol  of  a  Trinity  of  Evil,  the  antithesis 
of  the  Divine  attributes  of  power,  wisdom,  charity,  as  in  C.  iii.  ^-6,  and 
therefore   impotence,   igorance,  and  hatred,  or  pride,   envy,  and   impiety. 

(2)  The  three  colours  have  been  treated  as  representing  the  three  parts  of  the 
world  then  known,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  (Lontb.  Phil.,  and  many 
others),  or  as  symbolic  respectively  of  the  three  passions,  anger,  envy,  and 
despair.  So  Milton,  P.  L.,  iv.  144,  who,  however,  eliminates  the  grotesque 
element.  (3)  The  political  school  of  commentators  see  in  the  red  face  the 
type  of  the  Guelphs,  whose  banner  was  of  that  colour ,  in  the  black,  that  of 

2Z2 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

Beneath  each  head  two  outspread  wings  arose, 
Large,  as  befitted  such  a  bird  as  that  ; 
No  ship  at  sea  such  monstrous  canvas  shows  ; 

No  feathers  had  they,  but  like  those  of  bat 

Their  fashion  was,  and  so  the  pinions  tossed,  *** 

That  three  strong  blasts  went  forth  from  where  he 
sat; 

By  them  Cocytus  was  all  bound  in  frost. 

With  his  six  eyes  he  weeps;  o'er  threefold  chin 
The  rain  of  tears  and  bloody  drivel  crossed. 

And  with  the  teeth  each  misshaped  mouth  within,      ^^ 
In  flax-mill  wise,  he  crunched  a  sinner's  frame. 
So  that  three  souls  he  tortured  for  their  sin. 

To  him  in  front  the  bite  as  nought  became 
To  the  fierce  clawing,  which  oft  left  the  spine 
Stripped  bare  of  all  the  skin  that  from  it  came.        *" 

"That  soul  up  there  who  pays  the  heaviest  fine 
Is  Judas,"  spake  my  Guide,  "  Iscariot, 
Whose  legs  without  with  head  inside  combine, 

Of  the  other  two,  whose  heads  have  downward  got, 
Brutus  is  he  who  in  the  black  mouth  lies —  ^ 

See  how  he  writhes,  yet  speaketh  not  a  jot — 

the  Neri  of  Florence  ;  in  the  yellow,  that  of  ihcJJeur-de-lys.  on  the  shield  of 
France.     Of  the  three,  (i)  seems  most  in  harmony  with  Dante's  mind. 

46  The  six  wings  seem  the  only  survival  of  the  higher  than  archangelic 
state  from  which  Lucifer  had  fallen  (Isa.  vi.  2  ;  Rev.'i  v.  8). 

^  The  bat  is,  perhaps,  chosen  as  the  emblem  of  the  will  that  "loves  dark- 
ness rather  than  light,  because  its  deeds  arc  evil." 

S2  The  explanation  of  the  phenomenon  that  had  perplexed   Dante  in 
C.  xxxiii.  103-105. 

62  The  combination  of  the  three  traitors  is  the  culminating  point  of  Dante's 
political  system  as  developed  in  the  De  Monarchia  (iii.  16).  The  Church 
and  the  Empire  are,  each  within  its  own  sphere,  fhe  representatives  of  the 
Divine  Government.  The  salvation  of  the  world,  the  happiness  of  mankind, 
depend  on  the  full  and  righteous  exercise  of  the  powers  of  each  within  that 
sphere.  The  treachery  of  Judas  was  a  sin  agamst  the  Divine  Head  and 
Founder  of  the  Church ;  that  of  Brutus  and  Cassius  against  the  divinely 
appointed  head  and  founder  of  the  Empire.  All  three  were  sinners  alike 
against  God  and  against  humanitjj,  sharers  in  the  sin  of  Satan,  their  treachery 
being  aggravated,  as  his  was,  by  ingratitude  towards  their  benefactors.  The 
allocation  of  the  three  traitors  to  the  three  heads  gives  some  colour  to  one  of 
the  ethical  interpretations  noted  above.  Judas  sinned  through  avarice, 
Brutus  through  pride,  Cassius  through  envy. 
223 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

That  other  Cassius  is,  so  gross  in  size. 

But  the  night  climbs,  and  now  to  take  our  way 
The  hour  hath  come,  for  all  hath  met  our  eyes." 

Then,  as  he  pleased,  upon  his  neck  I  lay,  ^° 

And  he  the  vantage  seized  of  time  and  place. 
And  when  the  wings  with  room  enough  did  play, 

He  laid  fast  hold  where  shaggy  sides  gave  space. 
From  rock  to  rock  descended  downward  then, 
And  'twixt  the  ice  and  thick  hair  moved  apace.        " 

When  we  had  reached  the  point  where  legs  of  men 
Turn  round  upon  the  thickness  of  the  thighs. 
My  Guide,  with  toil  and  eager-breathing  strain, 

Where  his  legs  had  been  made  his  head  uprise, 

And  as  a  climber  grasped  the  hairy  skin  ;  ** 

So  deemed  I  Hell  once  more  would  meet  mine 
eyes. 

"  Keep  fast  thy  hold,  for  by  such  stairs  we  win 
Our  way  up,"  said  my  Master  wearily; 
"  Thus,  and  not  else,  from  this  vast  world  of  sin." 

Then  through  a  rock's  wide  hole  he  passed  on  high,    " 
And  made  me  sit  upon  a  margin  there. 
Then  straightway  took  his  cautious  steps  to  me. 

67  The  description  of  Cassius  as  "gross  in  size"  is  at  variance  with 
Plutarch,  who  speaks  of  him  (Brut.  29,  Ctps.  62),  as  Shakespeare  does,  as 
"lean  and  hungry."  Possibly  Dante  mixed  him  up  with  L.  Cassius,  whom 
Cicero  (Catil.  iii.)  describes  as  "  fat." 

68  The  night  is  that  which  follows  Good  Friday.  The  circuit  of  Hell  has 
been  made  in  twenty-four  hours.    Dante  is  not  to  spend  his  Easter  Eve  in  it. 

73  The  exit  from  Hell  reaches  the  extremest  point  of  grotesqueness.  The 
example  of  Virgil  at  the  close  of  /En.  vi.,  the  authority  of  the  "  Hoc  opus, 
hie  labor  est"  (ySn.  vi.  128),  forbade  the  slow  process  of  a  reascent  through 
all  the  circles  that  he  had  traversed.  Virgil  had  cut  the  knot  by  leading 
jEneas  through  the  "ivory  gate  "  of  false  visions  of  the  night  (^n.  vi.  899). 
Dante,  falling  back  on  his  physical  geography,  remembered  that  the  centre 
of  the  earth  is  also  the  centre  of  gravity  ;  that  if  that  were  once  past,  there 
might  be  a  way  leading  to  the  upper  world  again ;  but  that  in  order  to  be  in 
the  normal  attitude  of  man  when  that  passage  was  effected,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  effect  a  somersault.  When  this  is  done,  he  looks  from  the  rock, 
and  sees,  not  the  head,  but' the  legs  of  Lucifer  quivering  in  the  air.  The 
way  by  which  the  two  pilgrims  travelled  is  left  undescribed,  save  that  it  is 
difficult,  rough,  and  dark,  like  a  cavern,  and  that  the  ascent,  like  the  descent, 
was  accomplished  in  twenty-four  hours. 
224 


HELL  CANTO  XXXI V 

J  raised  mine  eyes,  and  thought  to  see  full  clear, 
As  I  had  left  him,  Lucifer  upright  ; 
And  lo !  I  saw  him  now  his  legs  uprear  ;  * 

And  if  I  then  was  startled  at  the  sight, 

Let  the  coarse  herd  conceive  who  do  not  see 
What  the  point  was  I  passed  with  step  so  light. 

"  Rise  on  thy  feet,"  then  said  my  Guide  to  me ; 

"  Long  is  the  way  and  evil  is  the  road,  * 

And  soon  the  sun  in  middle  tierce  will  be." 

It  was  no  stately  hall  of  king's  abode, 

There  where  we  went,  but  like  a  natural  cave, 
Where  rough  the  floor,  and  scanty  light  is  showed. 

"  Before  I  tear  myself  from  this  drear  grave,  ^°° 

My  Master,"  said  I,  as  I  stood  erect, 
"  Speak  a  few  words  from  error  me  to  save. 

Where  is  the  ice  ?  and  what  works  this  effect. 

That  he  there's  upside  down  ?     How  hath  the  sun 
So  quick  from  eve  to  morn  made  course  direct  ?  "  ^"^ 

And  )ie  to  me  :  "  Thou  still  art  dreaming  on. 
As  on  the  centre's  other  side,  where  I 
My  way  o'er  that  world-piercing  serpent  won, 

While  I  came  down,  on  that  side  thou  didst  lie  ; 
Then,  when  I  turned,  thou  didst  the  point  pass 

through  "" 

To  which  all  weights  from  every  quarter  fly, 

And  'neath  the  hemisphere  dost  now  pursue 
Thy  way,  which  is  of  that  the  opposite. 
Which  the  dry  land  o'erhangs,  'neath  whose  vault 
slew 

96  "Middle  tierce"  is,  in  the  Church  reckoning  of  the  13th  century,  which 
Dante  follows  {Com:  iv.  23),  an  hour  and  a  half  after  sunrise,  half-way  to  the 
third  hour,  the  starting-point  varying  with  the  length  of  the  day.  Virgil 
speaks,  it  must  be  noted,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  new  hemisphere  in 
which  the  pilgrims  are  now  travelling.  It  had  been  night  before  (1.  68) ;  it 
is  now  morning  (1.  118),  the  dawn  of  Easter  Monday. 

112  In  the  physical  geography  of  the  13th  century  it  was  held  that,  as  the 

hemisphere  then  known  as  the  abode  of  man  was  predominantly  land,  so  the 

other  was,  with  the  exception  of  the  Mountain  of  Purgatory,  entirely  of 

water.    Jerusalem   (the  thought  came  perhaps  from  EzeA.  v.    5)  was  the 

225  f 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

They  Him  whose  birth  and  life  were  sinless  quite.     "' 
Thou  hast  thy  feet  upon  the  little  sphere 
Which  brings  Giudecca*s  other  face  to  sight  ; 

Here  it  is  morning  when  'tis  evening  there. 
And  he  whose  hair  as  ladder  served  us  well 
Is  fast  fixed  still  as  he  did  then  appear.  ^ 

On  this  side  'twas  that  he  from  high  Heaven  fell, 
And  all  the  land  that  here  was  prominent 
Through  fear  of  him  beneath  the  ocean's  swell 

Took  refuge,  and  beneath  our  half-sphere  went  ; 

And  that  which  here  is  seen  perchance  forsook        ^^ 
Its  place  to  flee,  upgathering  its  extent." 

There  is,  from  Belzebub  as  far,  a  nook. 
As  is  the  deep  of  that  vast  tomb  below. 
Known    by   a    streamlet's  sound — 'twere  vain   to 
look — 

Which  in  a  hollow  rock  doth  downward  go  ^^ 

Through  channel  it  has  made  in  lapse  of  age, 
Which  slopes  down  gently  as  its  waters  flow. 

My  Guide  and  I  then  made  our  pilgrimage. 
On  that  dark  road  the  world  of  light  to  find. 
And,  with  no  care  to  halt  at  any  stage,  '** 

centre  of  the  land-hemisphere,  and  is  defined  as  the  "vault  "  or  culminating 
point,  where  the  Sinless  One  suffered.  Lucifer  fell  from  Heaven  on  the  side 
of  the  water-hemisphere;  the  earth's  contents  fled  before  him  and  appeared 
above  the  waters,  while  the  land,  disturbed  as  he  fell,  rose  to  form  the  island- 
mountain,  and  left  the  cavernous  opening  through  which  the  pilgrims  now 
wound  their  way  upwards,  and  was  then  chosen  for  the  first  home  of  man, 
the  earthly  Paradise. 

127  t)ante  adopts  the  current  tradition  of  the  Church,  inherited  from  the 
Jews,  which  identified  the  Beelzebub  of  Ekron  (2  Kings  i.  2)  with  the  prince 
of  the  demons,  and  therefore  with  Lucifer  and  Satan  (Matt.  xii.  24-26). 

130  The  streamlet,  if  we  care  to  ask  questions,  may  probably  be  thought 
of  as  an  outlet  of  the  Lethe  of  Purg.  xxxiii.  9.  Sins  remembered  and 
retained,  as  in  the  rivers  of  Hell,  especially  Cocytus,  sins  forgotten  and 
forgiven,  all  contribute  to  the  everlastmg  cold  which  is  the  doom  of  their 
first  author. 

136  The  duration  of  the  journey  would  seem  to  have  been,  like  that  of  the 
descent,  twenty-four  hours.  It  was  morn  in  1.  105.  It  is  morn  again  in 
Purg.  i.  13. 

ZZO 


HELL  CANTO  XXXIV 

We  upward  clomb,  he  first  and  I  behind, 
So  that  I  saw  the  thiiigs  that  beauteous  are. 
By  high  Heaven  borne,  in  opening  round  defined  ; 

Thence  passed  once  more  to  rebehold  each  star. 

'SS  It  ic  characteristic  that  each  division  of  the  poem  ends  with  the  word 
"  stars."  To  see  them  is  the  first  joy  on  escaping  from  Hell,  To  mount  to 
them  is  the  bliss  of  ihe  cleansed  spirit  {,Purg.  xxxiii._i46).  The  fulness  of 
the  beatific  vision  lies  in  the  thoughtthat  the  love  which  moves  them  moves 
also  the  desire  and  will  of  each  mdividual  soul  [Par.  xxxiii.  145).  Many 
poets  have  written  of  the  starry  heavens.  No  poet  has  ever  received  their 
voiceless  preaching  more  fully  than  Dante.  We  can  enter  into  his  feeling 
when  he  refused  to  accept  his  return  from  exile  under  degrading  conditions, 
and  asked,  "Can  I  not  in  all  places  enjoy  the  light  of  the  sun  and  of  the 
Stars? "  [Ep.  10;  Frat.  O.  M.  iii.  p.  500.) 


«»7 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 

Italics  indicate  that  the  reference  occurs  only 
in  the  Notes 


Abbagliato,  193,  194 

Abel,  41 

Abraham,  41 

Absalom,  188 

Acacius,    Monophysite    Bishop 

of  Constantinople,  81 
Accidia  (acedia),  62 
Acheron,  35,  104 
Achilles,  48,  89,  172,  200 
Acqiiacheta,  116 
Acre,  capture  of,  180 
Adam,  37,  41 

Adam,  apocryphal  book  of,  23 
Adam,  Messer,  of  Brescia,  197, 

198 
Adelasia  of  Sardinia,  150 
Adige,  the  river,  86 
y£acus,  191 
^gina,  191 
iEneas,  44,  173 
iEsculapins,  88 
AEschylus,  69,  loi,  158 
iEsop,  152 

^tna  (see  Mongibello) 
Agnello  (Agnolo),  Brunelleschi, 

166 
Ahithophel,  188 
Alberigo  (see  Fra  Alberigo) 
Alardo  di  Valleri,  183 
Alberti  family,  208 
Albert  us  Magnus,  100 
Alchemists,  the,  190 
Alecto,  70 
Alessandro,  Conte  di  Romena, 

197 


Alexander  the  Great,  90,  100 

A  lexander  of  PhercB,  90 

Ali  (disciple  of  Mahomet),  184 

Alichino,  146,  151 

Alps,  the,  100,  116 

Altaforte,  190 

Alyschamps,  73 

Amari,  history  of  the  Sicilian 

Vespers,  133 
"  Amen,"  116 
Amphiaraus,  136 
Amphion,  207 
Amphisbene,  161 
Anastasius,  the  Emperor,  8i 
Anastasius,  Pope,  81 
Anaxagoras,  45 
Anchises,  21 
Angela,  Michael,  36 
Angelo,  St.,  Castle  of,  125 
Angiolello  da  Cagnano,  185 
Anselmuccio  (Ugolino),  215 
Antasus,  205,  206 
Antenora,  83,  210 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  98 
Apennine,  116, 138 
Apostolic  Brothers,  the,  185 
Aquarius,  158 
Aquinas,  Thomas,    27,  32,   34, 

57,  79,  181 
Arachne,  119 
Arbia,  the  river,  78 
Arethusa,  168 
Aretines,  147,  192 
Argenti,  Filippo,  64,  66 
Argive,  186 


229 


^ 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Ariadne,  86 

Aristotle,  26,  42,  44,  59,  82,  84, 

85,  88,  89,  ic» 
Arius,  81 
Aries,  73 
Arao,  the  river,  iii,  156,  197, 

217 
Arnold  Matthew,  48 
Arrigo,  56 

Arsenal,  origin  of  word,  141 
Arthur,  King,  209 
Arthurean  Legends,  48,  52 
Aruns,  the  seer,  137 
Asdente,  the  cobbler  of  Parma, 

140 
Athamas,  194 
Atropos,  219 
Atfila,  92,  99 

Augustine,  St.,  2,  32,  39,  57 
Augustus  (i.e.  Frederic  II.),  96 
Aulis,  140 

Aventure  Mount,  165 
Averrhoes,  45,  84,  140 
Avicenna,  45 
Azzo  d'Este,  Podesti  of  Verona, 

112 

Azzo  d'Este,  Marquis  of  Ferrara, 

126 
Azzolino  da  Romano,  90 

BACCHIGLIONE,  III 

Bacchus,  the  city  of,  138 

Bacon,  Lord,  43 

Bacon,  Roger,  44,  45,  iii,  117, 

140 
*'  Bagnio,"  102 
Baptism,  the  lack  of,  40 
Baptist,  St.  John  the,  197 
Barbariccia,  146,  148,  149,  152 
"  Beasts  of  Fiesole,"  109 
Beatrice,  24,  28,  29-31,  80,  89 
Beaver,  the,  119 
Beccheria,  Teiauro  di,  211 
Beelzebub,  226 
Benaco,  Lake,  138 
Benedetto,  San,  Abbey  of,  116 
Benedict  IX.,  Pope,  132 
Benvenuto  Cellini  (see  Cellini) 
Benvenuto  da  Imola,  100 


Bergamo,  138 
Bernardino  da  Polenta,  147 
Bertram  del  Bomio,  188 
Bertrand  de  Gotto,  132  [see  also 

Clement  V. ) 
Bianchi  and  Neri,  77,  163,  209 
Bisenzio,  208 
"  Black  Country,"  the,  74 
Blind  Florentines,  109 
Bocca  degli  Abati,  210 
Boetkius,  19,  51 
Bolgia,  the  first,  124 

the  second,  125 

the  third,  129 

the  fourth,  135 

the  fifth,  141,  147 

the  sixth,  152 

the  seventh,  158 

the  eighth,  171 

the  ninth,  182 

the  tenth,  190 
Bologna,  126,  156,  158 
Bonatti  (see  Guido) 
Boniface  VIII.,    Pope,   17,  35, 

55.  I".  I2S..I3I.  179 
Bona/azio     degli    Uberti     (see 

Dittamondo),  75 
Bonturo  Dati,  143 
Bornio,  Bertram  del,  188 
Borsier,  Guglielmo,  115 
Branca  d'Oria,  219 
Branda,  fount  of,  197 
Brenta,  the  river,  106 
Brescia,  138 
Briareus,  204 
Brigata  (Ugolino),  217 
Bruges,  105 
Brunetto  Latini,  18,  48,  84,  99, 

107,  108,  no,  III,  162 
Brutus,  44,  223 
Buiamonte,  121 
Bulicame,  102 
Bunyan,  17,  18 

Buonconte  di  Montefeltro,  147 
Buoso  Donati  or  Abati,  169,  196 
Buoso  da  Duera,  211 
Butler,  Bishop,  43 

Caccia  d'Asciano,  193 


230 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Cacciaguida,  8o 

Caccianimico,  125 

Cacus,  165 

Cadmus,  168 

"Cassar,"  applied  to  German 

Emperor,  95 
Caesar,  Julius,  44,  108,  186,  187 
Cagnazzo,  146,  151 
Cahors,  83 
Caiaphas,  157 
Cain,  141 
Caina,  51,  83,  209 
Calcabrina,  146,  151 
Calchas,  140 
Calvin,  85 

Camicione  de'  Pazzi,  209 
Camilla,  23,  44 
Camonica  valley,  138 
Campaldino,  battle  of,  147 
Canary  Isles,  175 
Can  Grande,  22,  23,  43,  91,  138, 

140 
Canidia,  140 
CanncB,  battle  of,  183 
Caorsine,  83 
Capaneus,  101,  165 
Capocchio,  194,  195 
Capraia,  217 
"Cardinal,  the,"  80 
Carenzana,  116 
Carisenda,  the,  206 
Carlino  de'  Pazzi,  209 
Carmignano,  tower  at,  164 
Carrara,  137 
Casalodi,  139 
Casentino,  197 
Cassius,  Lucius,  224 
Catalan,  Fra,  156 
Cato  of  Utica,  99 
Cattolica,  186 
Caurus,  85 

Cavacciuoli-Aditnari,  65 
Cavalcanti,  Francesco,  167,  169 
Cavalcanti,  Guido,  76,  77 
Cecina,  93 

Celestine  W.,  Pope,  35,  131 
Cellini  Benvenuto,  58 
Centaurs,     88,     165    {^see    also 

Nessus) 


Ceperano,  battle  of,  183 
Cerberus,  53,  54,  72 
Cerchi,  the,  115 
Cervia,  177 
Ceiena,  city  of,  178 
Ceuta,  174 

Charlemagne,  73,  98,  201 
Charles  of  Anjou,  76, 114,  133, 

147,  183,  211 
Charles  of  Valois,  55 
Charon,  37,  38 
Charybdis,  59 
Chaucer,  45,  51,  60,  62,  95, 147, 

216,  217 
Chiani,  the  river,  197 
Chiaventana,  106 
Child-life,  pictures  of,  154 
Chiron,  88-90 
Church,  Dean,  31 
Ciacco,  54,  55 
Ciampolo,  148 
Cianfa  dei  Donati,  166 
Cicero,  44,  88,  224 
Circe,  173 
Ciriatto,  146,  149 
Civitella,  battle  of,  183 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,  32 
Clement  IV.,  Pope,  92 
Clement  V.,  Pope,  132,  185 
Cleopatra,  48 
Clotilde  de  Vaux,  28 
Clove,  use  of  the,  193 
Cocytus,  104,  205,  220,  223 
Colchis,  127 

Cologne,  the  monks  of,  155 
Columbus,  174 

"  Commedia,"  date  of  the,  17 
"Commedia,"  invoked,  118 
Conradin  of  Hohenstaufen,  183 
Constantine,    the  "Donation" 

of,  134 
Cordelier,  117,  179 
Cornelia,  44 
Corneto,  93 
Corso  Donati,  33 
"  Cosajatta  capo  ha,"  187 
Crete,  86,  103 
Curio,  186,  187 
Cyprus,  186 


^^l 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


DiEDALUS,  122,   I93 

Damietta,  103 
"  Datnnatio  levissinta,"  39 
Dante,  married  and  public  life, 
76,  77 
a    member    of    the    Tertiary 

Order  of  St.  Francis,  117 
his  epistle  to  Can  Grande,  22 
his  epistle  to  the  Florentines, 

23 
his  epistle  to  Henry  VII.,  196 
his    epistle    to    Joannes    de 

Virgil,  22 
his  theory,  the  knowledge  of 

the  lost,  55,  79 
his  solitary   reference   to    his 

parents,  65 
probably  visited  London  and 

Oxford,  91 
anecdote  about  the  Font  of  the 
Baptistery  of  St.  John,  130 
his  leaning    to    the    ' '  larger 

hope,"  27 
confluence    of    biblical    and 
classical  memories,  36,  198 
challenges    comparison   with 
Lucan  and  Ovid,  167 
Dati.  Bonturo,  143 
David,  41,  188 
Dead,   the,    speculation    as    to 

their  mental  activities,  79 
Decretals,  the  spurious,  134 
Decurion,  150 
Deidamia,  172 
Dejanira,  89 
Democritus,  44 
Demons,  pranks  of  the,  144 
De  Profundis,  18,  19 
De  tribus  impostoribus,  79 
Dido,  48 

Diodorus  Siculus,  172 
Diogenes,  45 
Diomede,  172 
Dionysius  of  Syracuse,  90 
Dioscorides,  45 
Dis,  66,  83,  87,  221 
"  Dittamondo,"  a  poem,  75,  91 
"Doctor  Vulgaris"  (  =  Dante), 
121 


Dolcino,  Fra,  184 

Dollinger,  Dr.,  134 

"  Dolorous  Rout,"  the^  201 

Dolphins,  148 

Dominic,  St.,  181 

Donati,  Buoso,  169,  196 

Donati,  Corso,  33 

"  Donation"  {see  Constantine) 

Donau  (the  Danube),  207 

D'Oria,  Branca,  219 

Doves,  49 

Draghinazzo,  146,  150 

Dreams,  170,  208,  214,  215 

Duera,  Buoso  da,  211 

Eagle  of  Polenta,  177 

Edward  I. ,  the"  English  Jus- 
tinian," III 

Elders,  the,  44 

Electra,  44 

Elijah,  171 

Elisha,  171 

Empedocles,  45,  87 

"Emperor,  the,"  applied  to 
Satan,  221 

Enzio  of  Sardinia,  150 

Ephialtes,  204 

Epicureans,  74 

Erichtho,  69 

Erinnyes  (the  Furies),  70,  195 

Esau,  35 

Este  (al.  Esti),  castle  of,  90 

Eteocles,  172 

Ethiopia,  161 

Euclid,  45 

Euripides,  102 

Euryalus,  23 

Eurypylus,  140 

Eusebius,  28 

Ezekiel,  38 

Ezzelin  da  Romano,  90 

Fabonacci,  140 

Faenza,  178,  211 

Falconry,  37,  123,  151 

Falterona,  valley  of,  208 

Fano,  city  of,  185 

Farfarello,  146,  150 

Farinata  degli  Uberti,  56, 75, 109 


23a 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Felix,  Pope,  8i 

Feltro  (al.   Feltri),  city  of,  22, 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  174 
Fiesole,  108-110 
"  Fig^'  the,  164 
Filippo  Argenti,  64,  66 
Fishes,  the  (Zodiacal  sign),  85 
Flatterers,  127 
Flemings,  the,  105 
Florence,  city  of,  &c.,  78,  115, 

121,  156,  163,  170,  2n 
Florentines,  blind,  109 
Florentines,  distinctive  dress  of, 

112 
Florin,  197 
Focaccia,  209 
Focara,  Mount,  186 
Forli,  116,  178 
Fortunate  Isles,  the,  175 
Fortunatus,  Venantius,  '2,'20 
Fra  Alberigo,  21,  25,  218 
Fra  Catalan,  156 
Fra  Dolcino,  184 
Fra  Gomita,  150 
France,  132 

Francesca  da  Rimini,  50,  84 
Francesco  d'Accorso,  iii 
Frances,  St.,  60,  181 
Franciscan  Order,  20,  117,  181 
Frati  Gaudenii,  156 
Fraudulent,  the,  83 
Frederic  II.,  the  Emperor,  44, 

74-76,  80,  9Si  96,  III,  140, 

147.  '^SS 
Frederic  Novello  (see  Novello) 
French,  the,  178,  193,  211 
Ft  ires  Bons-Vivants,  156 
Friars  Joyous,  156 
Friars  Minor,  152 
Frisians,  the,  203 
Frogs,  71,  148,  152,  208 
Fucci,  Vanni,  162 
Furies,  the,  70,  195 

Gaddo,  Ugolino,  216 
Gaeta,  173 
Galahault,  52 
Galen,  45 


Galeotto  and  Galahad,  52 

Gallura,  150 

Ganellone,  211 

Garda,  Lago  di,  138 

Gardingo,  156 

Gargoyles,  46 

Gaville,  169 

Genesis,  the  book  of,  85 

Genoese,  the,  220 

Geri  del  Bello,  190 

Germans,  the,  119 

Geryon,  122,  124 

Ghisola,  126 

Gianciotto,  50 

Giantigliazzi  family,  120 

Gianni  del  Soldanier,  211 

Gian  Schicchi,  195 

Giotto,  17,  117 

Giudecca,  83,  226 

Golden  Legend,  the,  19 

Gomita,  Fra,  150 

Gorgona,  217 

Gotto,  Bertrand  del,  132 

Govemo,  138 

Gower,    "  Confessio   Amantis" 

of,  35.  48 
Graffiacane,  146 
Greece,  139 
Greeks,  173 

Gregory  the  Great,  Pope,  82 
Greyhound,  the,  22 
Griffolino  d'Arezzo,  192,  195 
Gualandi,  214 
Gualdrada,  113 
Guelphs    and  Ghibellines,   76, 

213 
Guido    d'Aretino  (al.  Guittone 

d'Arezzo),  156 
Guido  Bonatti,  140 
Guido  del  Cassero,  185 
Guido  Cavalcanti,  56,  76,  77, 

107,  147 
Guido  Guerra,  113,  114 
Guido  di  Montefeltro,  177-181, 

213 
Guido  Novello,  52,  211 
Guido  Pisano,  23 
Guido  da  Polenta,  177 
Guido  di  Romena,  i^ 


»33 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Guinevere,  Queen,  52 
Guiscard,  Robert,  183 
Guyde  Montfort,  91,  21I 
Guizzante,  105 

Hades,   the  descent  into,   40, 

146 
Hannibal,  205 
Harpies,  the,  93,  97 
*'  Harrowing  0/  Hell,"  the,  146 
Hecate,  77,  78 
Hector,  44 
Hecuba,  195 
Helen  of  Troy,  48 
Helena,     Mistress    of     Simon 

Magus,  29 
Heliopolis,  162 
Heliotrope,  161 
Henry  III.  of  England,  91 
Henry  VII.,  the  Emperor,  22, 

71,  104,  132,  214 
Henry,  son  of  Richard,  Earl  of 

Cornwall,  91 
Heraclitus,  45 
Hercules,  88,  165,  174,  206 
Heresiarchs,  73,  81 
Hippocrates,  45 
Hohenstaufen  dynasty,  the,  104 
Holy  Face  of  Lucca,  the,  143 
Homer,  42,  45,  174 
Horace,  42,  45,  140,  174 
Hunger's  Tower,  214 
Hunt,  Leigh,  50 
Hydras,  161 
Hypocrites,  156 
Hypsipyle,  127 

Icarus,  122 
Ice,  the  lakes  of,  207 
Ida.  Mount,  103 
Ilion  (Troy),  21 
Imola,  178 
India,  100 
Ino,  194 

Interminei,  Alessio,  128 
Iseult,  48 
Israel  (Jacob),  41 
Italian  travellers    in    XlVth 
century,  49 


Italy,  23,  73, 138 

JACOPO  di  St.  Andrea,  97 
Jacopo  Rusticucci,  56,  114 
Jason,  the  Argonaut,  127 
Jason,  i.e.,  Joshua,  133 
Jehoshaphat,  the  valley  of,  74 
Jerome,  St.,  19 
Jerusalem,  225 
Jews,  180 
John   the    Baptist,    church   at 

Florence,  78,  130 
John  the  Baptist,  98 
John,  St..  the  Evangelist,  134 
John  XXII.,  Pope,  83 
Joseph,  the  Patriarch,  198 
Jubilee  at  Rome,  the,  17,    125, 

135 
Judas  Iscariot,  206,  223 
Julia,  daughter  of  Julius  Caesar, 

44 
Julius  Caesar  {see  Caesar) 
Juno,  194 

Justin  Martyr,  20,  21 
Juvenal,  112 

Knights  Joyous,  order  of  the,  218 
Kublai  Khan,  23 

Lago  di  Garda,  138 

"Lai,"'  Provenpal   term    for   a 

dirge,  47 
Lamagna  (Germany),  138 
Lamone,  178 

Lancelot  of  the  Lake,  52,  180 
Lanciotto  (see  Gianciotto) 
Lanfranchi,  214 
Lano  of  Siena,  97 
Lap}  degli  Uberti,  75 
' '  Latger  hope,  the, ' '  27 
Lateran,  the,  180 
Latian  race,  the,  149 
Latini,  Brunetto  {see  Brunetto) 
Latin  Land,  the,  177,  185 
Latin  people,  192 
Lavinia,  44 
Leaden  hoods,  punishment  of, 

155 
Leah,  40 


234 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Learchus,  194 

Legend,  the  Golden  (see  Golden) 
Lemnos,  127 
Leontius  of  Calabria,  42 
Lethe,  the  river,  105 
"  Z.evissima  Damnatio,"  39 
Libicocco,  146,  149 
Libya,  161 

Limbo  of  infants,  the,  39 
Limbus,  40 
Linus,  poet,  45 
Lisbon,  175 
Litta,  120 
Livy,  183 
Lizard,  the,  167 
Lodringo,  156 
Logodoro,  150 
Lombards,  150,  176 
Longfellow,  H.  W.,  40 
Lost,  misery  of  the,  32 
Lost,  nakedness  of  the,  37,  100 
Louis  IX. ,  I  n 

Lucan,  42,  45,  69,  90,  99,  137, 
167,  183,  186,  202,  205,  212 
Lucca,  214 
Lucia,  St.,  29 
Lucifer,  20,  221,  225 
Lucretia,  44 
Lucretius,  18,  118 
Luni,  137 

Maccabees,  the  book  of  the, 

133 

Maghinardo,  Pagano,  178 
Mahomet,  184,  185 
Majolica,  186 
Malacoda,  144,  145, 158 
Malatesta,  178 
Malatestino,  178,  186 
Malebolge,  124,  138,  141,  159, 

190 
Malebranche,  143,  150,  220 
"  Mamma  "  and  "  Babbo,"  207 
Manto,  137 
Mantua,  63,  139 
Manuel  (Orientalist),  203 
Marcabo,  fortress  of,  185 
Marcia,  Cato's  wife,  44 
Maremma,  the,  93,  165, 190 


Margaritone  of  Arezto,  75 

Mark,  King  of  Cornwall,  48 

Mars,  the  war-god,  163 

Mars,  statue  of,  at  Florence,  98 

Maria,  the  river,  93 

Martin  IV.,  Pope,  178,  212 

Mascheroni,  Sassol,  209 

Matthias,  St.,  133 

Maximus  Planudes,  152 

Medea,  127 

Medusa,  70 

Megaera,  70 

Menalippus,  212 

"  Meschite  "  (mosques),  66 

' '  Mews,"  214 

Michael,  the  Archangel,  59 

"  Middle  tierce,"  225 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  18 

Milman,  Dean,  35,  131,  132 

Milton,  20,  21,  34,  40,  43,  65, 
86,  134,  160,  181,  206,  207, 
222 

Minarets,  66 

Mincio,  the  river,  138 

Minor  Friars,  152 

Minos,  46,  96,  136,  182,  193 

Minotaur,  87 

Mirror,  mediaeval,  153 

"Misereres  in  churches,  46 

"  Mo"  and  "  Issa,"  153 

Monarchies,  the  ancient,  sym- 
bolised, 19 

Mongibello  (i.e.,  Mount  .(Etna), 

lOI 

Montagna  di  Parcitade,  178 
Montaperti,  battle  of,  75, 76,  78, 

107,  114,  120,  210 
Monte  Gianicolo,  125 
Montereggioni,  202 
Montfort,  Guy  de,  91 
Montone,  the  river,  116 
Morocco,  174 
Morte  d  Arthur,  48,  209 
Mosca  de'  Lamberti,  56,  187 
Mountain,  the  Delectable,  18 
Mountain  of  Purgatory,    the, 

^7^.  225 
Muses,  the,  207 
Myrmidons,  191 


235 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Myrrha,  196 

Nakedness  of  lost  souls,  100, 

112,  195, 
Napoleon  degli  Alberti,  208 
Narcissus,  199 
Nassidius,  127 
Navarre,  149,  151 
Neptune,  186 
Neri,  the,  163 
Nessus,  89,  90,  93 
Niccolo  de'  Salinibeni,  193 
Nicolas  III.,  Pope,  131,  133 
Nicodemus,      the      apocryphal 

Gospel  of,  40,  68 
Nile,  the  river,  222 
Nimrod,  203 
Nino  de'  Visconti,  149 
Ninus,  48 
Nisus,  23 
Noah,  41 
Novarese,  the,  185 

"O"  AND  "  I,"  162 

Obizzo  da  Este,  90,  91,  126 

CEdipus,  172 

Orcagna'sjrescoes  at  Pisa,  222 

Ordelaffi,  Scarpetta  degli,  178 

Origen,  32 

Orlando  (Roland),  201 

Orosius,  48 

Orpheus,  45 

Orsini,  Cartlinal,  170 

Orsini,  Pope  Nicolas  III.,  132 

Ovid,  42,  104,  119,  122, 137,161, 

167,  168,  170,  191, 194,  195, 

200,  205,  216 
Ozanam,  A.  F.,  8r,  103 

Padua,  121 

Paduans,  the,  106 

Pagano  Maghinardo,  178 

Palestrina,  181 

Palladium,  172 

Pantomime  of  Hell,  the  dram. 

pers.  of,  142,  143 
"  Papae,  Satan,  Aleppe,"  58 
Parents,  Dante'ssolitaryallusion 

to  his,  65 


236 


Paris,  of  Troy,  48 

Patrick's  (St. )  Purgatory,  21 

Peculators,  141 

Pellico,  Silvio,  50 

Penelope,  173 

Penthesilea,  44 

"  Perse,"  49,  6a 

Persius,  121 

Peschiera,  138 

Peter  of  Aragon,  133 

Peter,  St.,  125,  133,  202 

Petrarch,  35 

Phadrus,  152 

Phaethon,  122 

Phalaris,  176 

Pharisees,  the,  157 

Pharisees,  the  new,  180 

Philip  le  Bel,  133 

Phlegethon,  104,  105 

Phlegra,  roi,  202 

Phlegyas,64 

Phoenix,  the,  162 

Pholus,  89 

Photinus,  the  deacon,  81 

Piceno,  164 

Pier  da  Medicina,  185 

Pier  delle  Vigne,  95 

Pietas  Jjclia,  73 

Pietra  Pana,  208 

Pinamonte,  139 

Pine,  the  bronze,  at  Rome,  202 

Pisa,  217 

Pisans,  214 

Pistoia,  162-164 

Plato,  20,  44 

Pliny,  175,  176 

Plutarch,  224 

Pluto,  66 

Plutus,  58 

Po,  the  river,  50,  138 

Podesti,  57 

"  Poena     damni,     and    poena 

sensiis,"  46 
Poets,  Latin  and  Greek,  known 

to  Dante,  42 
Pola,  city  of,  73 
Polenta,  the  eagle  of,  177 
Polenta,  Bernardino  da,  147 
Polenta,  Guido  da,  177 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Polo,  Marco,  23,  66,   119,    142, 

174 
Polydorus,  195 
Poly  n  ices,  172 
Polyxena,  195 
Pompeius  Sextus,  69 
Popes,  simoniacal,  129 
Porson,  Professor,  143 
Prate,  170 

Prato,  Cardinal  da,  78,  170 
Prato,  the  Statutes  of  ,  164 
Priori  delle  Arti,  the,  17 
Ptolemaic  astronomy,  the,  18 
Ptolemy,  45,  219 
Ptolomaea,  212,  219 
Puglia,  183 
Pulci,  218 
Punishment  of  evil,  according  to 

mediaeval  theology,  136 
Purgatory  {^see  Patrick,  St.) 
Purvey,  iii 
Pyrrhus,  92 

Quadrivium,  43 
Quarnaro,  Gulf  of,  73 

Rachel,  41 

"  Raphel,  mai  amech,"  &c.,  203 
Ravenna,  50,  177 
Rebecca,  40 
Red  Sea,  the,  i6i 
Reno,  the  river,  126 
Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  216 
Rhea,  103 

Rhone,  the  river,  73 
Richard,  Earl  of  Cornwall,  91 
Rinier  da  Corneto,  92 
Rinier  da  Pazzo,  92 
Rinieri,  the,  92 
Roland  (Orlando),  201 
Romagna,  177,  220 
Romagnuoli,  177 
Romans,  109,  125,  172,  183 
Rome,  103,  202 
Romena,  197 
Roncesvalles,  rout  of,  201 
Rossetti,  G.,  31 

' '  Rossetti  school  of  interpreters," 
189 


Rubicante,  146,  148 
Rubruquis,  174 
Rujus,  William,  143 
Ruggieri,  Archbishop,  213 
Ruskin,  J.,   85,    89,    n8,    121, 

141 
Rusticucci,  56,  114 

Sabellian  heresy,  the,  81 

Sabellus,  167 

Sagarelli,  Gerard,  185 

Saladin,  44 

Salse,  126 

Santerno,  178 

Saracens,  180 

Sarah,  41 

Sardinia,  150,  174, 190 

Sassol  Mascheroni,  209 

Saturn,  103 

Savena,  126 

Savio,  the  river,  178 

Scala,  Alberto  delta,  91 

Scale  Force,  1 16 

Scarmiglione,  145 

Schicchi,  Gian,  195 

Schismatics,  184 

Sciancato  Puccio,  169 

Scipio,  205 

Scott,  Michael,  X40 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  140 

Scrovigni  family,  the,  121 

Seducers,  127 

Selden,  John,  85 

Semele,  194 

Semiramis,  48 

Seneca,  45 

Serchio,  the  river,  144 

Serpents,  161,  166,  i6>7 

Serravalle,  Giovanni  da,  35 

"Seven    against  Thebes,"   the, 

102 
Seville,  141,  174 
Sextus  Pompeius,  92 
Shakespeare,  17,  119,  164,  224 
"  Si,"  the  country  of,  217 
Sichaeus,  48 

.  Sicilian  bull  of  Phalaris,  176 
"  Sicilian  Vespers,"  the  war  of 
the,  133 


«37 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Siena,  192,  193 

Sienese,  the,  194 

Sieve,  the  river,  197 

Simon  Magus,  29,  129,  131 

Simonists,  131 

Sinon,  198,  199 

Sins  against  nature,  106 

"  Sipa"  (Bolognese  affirmative), 

126 
Sismondi,  214 
Slavini  di  Marco,  86 
Socrates,  45 
Sodom,  83 
Soothsayers,  135 
Soracte,  180 
Spain,  174 

"Spirits  in  prison,"  the,  40 
Stars,  the,  227 
Statius  42,  90,   102,  136,  172, 

212 
Storks,  208 
Stricca,  193 
Strophades,  the,  93 
Styx,  the,  62,  71,  104 
Suicides,  the  forest  of,  93 
"Swarth  Cherubin,"  181 
Sylvester,  Pope,  134,  i8o 

Tagliacozzo,  183 

Tanais,  the  river,  207 

Tarquin,  44 

Tartars,  119 

Telbaldello,  211 

Tegghiaio,  Aldobrandi,  56,  114 

Telephus,  200 

Tenerijffe,  the  Peak  of,  175 

Teniers,  144 

Tennyson,  49,  51,  71 

Tertiaries  of  the  Order  of  St, 

Francis,  20 
Terlullian,  65 
Tesoio  of  B.  Latini,  84 
Thais,  128 
Thales,  45 
Thames,  the,  91 
Thebans,  the,  136 
Thebes,  102,  138,  165,  194,  195, 

207,  217 
Theseus,  87 


238 


Thibault,  149,  151 

Threefold  face,  222 

Thucydides,  177 

Tiber,  the  river,  36,  177 

Tiresias,  137 

Tisiphone,  70 

Tityus,  205 

"  Toilette"  (extortion),  82 

Tomyris,  88 

Toppo,  98 

Torre  della  Fame,  214 

Totila,  98,  109 

Travel,   reminiscences    of,   59, 

73,  91,  100,  105,  116,  118, 

119,  125,  126, 138, 142,  148, 

155,  160,  190 
Trent,  86 
Tresca,  loi 
"  Tr^sor,'"     the,    of    Brunetto 

Latini,  no 
Tristan,  84 

Trent,  the  Bishop  of,  138 
Trivium  and  Quadrivium,  43 
Trojans,  93,  195 
Troy,  195,  198,  199 
Turks,  119 

Turner,],  W.M.,  167 
Turpin,   hist,    of   Charles   the 

Great,  73,  201 
Tuscans,  150,  155 
Tuscany,  162,  187,  209 
"  Twixt  goat  and  grass,"  109 
Tydeus,  212 
Typho,  205 
Tyrants,  92 

Ubaldini,  Archbishop  of  Pisa, 

213 
Ubaldini,  Cardinal,  80 
Uberti,  the,  75,  76 
Ubriacchi,  the,  121 
UgoUno,  Count,  213,  214,  217 
Uguccione  della  Fa^giuola,  92 
Uguccione  della  Gherardesca, 

217 
Ulysses,  172 
Unbaptized,  the,  40 
Unbelief  in  the  XUIth  century, 

79 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  NAMES 


Urban  IV.,  Pope,  156 
Urbino,  177 
Usurers,  120 
Usury,  85 
"  Utrum  sit  Deus?"  79 

Valdichiana,  190 
Val  di  Magra,  163 
Valla,  Lorenzo,  134 
Vanni  Fucci,  162 
Vaux,  Clotilde  de,  28 
Veltro,  the  greyhound ,  22 
"  Veniant/ructus,'''  218 
Venice,  the  arsenal  at,  141 
Vercelli,  185 
Verona,  ii2,  138 
Verrucchio,  178 
Veso,  Monte,  116 
Vespers,  the  Sicilian,  133 
"  Vexilla  regis,"  220 


Vieri  de'  Cerchi,  33 
Villani,  passim 
Virgil,  passim 
Virgilio,  Joannes  de,  22 
Vision  of  St.  Paul,  the,  25 
Vitaliano  del  Dante,  121 
Volcano,  loi 
Vulcan,  loi 

Wain,  Charles',  85,  86 
Wissant,  105 
Wyclif,  60 
Wyclif,  his  Bible,  11 1 

Yule,  Colonel,  174 

Zanche,  Michael,  150,  220 
Zeno  the  Stoic,  45 
Zita,  Santa,  143 


ADVERTISEMENTS 


An  Introduction  to  Shakespeare. 

By  HIRAM  CORSON,  LL.D., 

Prtrfessor  of  English  Literature  in  Cornell  University. 


THIS  work  indicates  to  the  student  lines  of  Shakespearean 
thought  which  will  serve  to  introduce  him  to  the  study  of  the 
Plays  as  plays.  The  general  introductory  chapter  is  followed  by 
chapters  on :  The  Shakespeare-Bacon  Controversy,  —  The  Authen- 
ticity of  the  First  Folio,  — ^The  Chronology  of  the  Plays,  —  Shake- 
speare's Verse, — The  Latin  and  Anglo-Saxon  Elements  of  Shake- 
speare's English.  The  larger  portion  of  the  book  is  devoted  to 
commentaries  and  critical  chapters  upon  Romeo  and  Juliet,  King 
John,  Much  Ado  about  Nothing,  Hamlet,  Macbeth,  and  Antony 
and  Cleopatra.  These  aim  to  present  the  points  of  view  demanded 
for  a  proper  appreciation  of  Shakespeare's  general  attitude  toward 
things,  and  his  resultant  dramatic  art,  rather  than  the  textual  study 
of  the  plays.  The  book  is  also  accompanied  by  examination*  ques- 
tions. 

This  work  is  a  scholarly  and  suggestive  addition  to  Shakespeare 
criticism,  especially  suited  to  students'  use,  by  reason  of  the  author's 
long  experience  as  a  teacher,  and  also  valuable  to  all  lovers  of 
Shakespeare,  by  reason  of  its  independence  of  opinion,  originality, 
and  learning. 

The  Nation  :  Altogether,  so  excellent  a  volume  of  Shakespeare  criticism  has 
not  been  put  forth  by  an  American  scholar  in  many  a  day.  Teachers  and  stu- 
dents both  may  profit  by  it  as  a  model  of  how  to  learn  in  this  particular  subject. 

Cloth.    400  pages.    $1.00. 


D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  Publishers 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


An  Introduction  to  Robert  Browning. 

By  HIRAM  CORSON,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  English  Literature  in  Cornell  University. 


THE  purpose  of  this  volume  is  to  afford  aid  and  guidance 
to  the  study  of  Robert  Browning's  Poetry.  As  this  is  the 
most  complexly  subjective  of  all  English  poetry,  it  is,  for  this  reason 
alone,  the  most  difficult.  The  poet's  favorite  art  form,  the  dramatic, 
or  rather  psychologic,  monologue,  which  is  quite  original  with  him- 
self, presents  certain  structural  difficulties,  but  difficulties  which, 
with  an  increased  familiarity,  grow  less  and  less.  The  exposition 
of  its  constitution  and  skillful  management,  presented  in  the  Intro- 
duction, and  the  Arguments  given  to  the  several  poems  included 
in  the  volume,  will,  it  is  hoped,  reduce,  if  not  altogether  remove, 
the  difficulties  of  this  kind.  In  the  same  section  of  the  Introduction 
certain  peculiarities  of  the  poet's  diction  are  presented  and  illus- 
trated. 

It  is  believed  that  the  notes  to  the  poems  will  be  found  to  cover 
all  points  and  features  of  the  texts  which  require  explanation  and 
elucidation.  At  any  rate,  no  real  difficulties  have  been  wittingly 
passed  by. 

The  following  Table  of  Contents  will  indicate  the  plan  of  the 
work :  — 

I.  The  Spiritual  Ebb  and  Flow  exhibited  in  English  Poetry. 
II.  The  Idea  of  Personality  and  of  Art  as  an  intermediate  agency  of  Personal* 
ity,  as  embodied  in  Browning's  Poetry. 

III.  Browning's  Obscurity. 

IV.  Browning's  Verse. 

V.  Arguments  of  the  Poems. 
VI.  Poems.    Thirty-three  representative  poems. 
VII.  List  of  criticisms  on  Browning's  works. 

Cloth.    348  pages.    $1.00. 


D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  Publishers 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


A    000  952  300     2 


